Effects of Olfaction and Pheromones | Literature Review

Effects of Olfaction and Pheromones | Literature Review Abstract: A favorable scent goes a long way. An odor or fragrance (commonly referred to as a smell) is caused by one or more volatilized  chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the  sense  of  olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors. Scent plays a very important role in our lives. A pheromone is a secreted or excreted  chemical  factor that triggers a social response in members of the same  species. A survey of sample size 30 college students was conducted to find out if scent did attract attention or not. Keywords: Olfaction, human pheromones, MHC genes Introduction: Want to boost your mood or stir up old memories? Just use your nose. And, most important, scent can even drive one to romantic distraction. Think of your partners pajamas. Indeed, the nose can suss out something as complex as sexual compatibility. The terms fragrance and aroma are used primarily by the food and cosmetic industry to describe a pleasant odor, and are sometimes used to refer to  perfumes. In contrast, malodor, stench, reek, and stink are used specifically to describe unpleasant odor. In the  United Kingdom, odour refers to scents in general. In the United States, odor has a more negative connotation, such as smell, stench or stink, while scent or aromas are used for pleasant smells. Research has shown that certain human body odors are connected to human sexual attraction. Both fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) are connected to scent. Review of literature: OLFACTION Olfaction or olfactory perception is the  sense  of smell. Many vertebrates, including most mammals and reptiles, have two distinct olfactory systems—the main olfactory system, and the accessory olfactory system which is mainly used to detect pheromones. In female humans, the sense of olfaction is strongest around the time of ovulation, significantly stronger than during other phases of the menstrual cycle and also stronger than the sense in males. The MHC genes (known as HLA in humans) are a group of genes present in many animals and important for the immune system; in general, offspring from parents with differing MHC genes have a stronger immune system. Fish, mice and female humans are able to smell some aspect of the MHC genes of potential sex partners and prefer partners with MHC genes different from their own. Humans can detect individuals that are blood-related kin (mothers/fathers and children but not husbands and wives) from olfaction. The ability to identify odors varies among people and decreases with age. Studies show there are sex differences in odor discrimination; women usually outperform males. Pregnant women also have increased smell sensitivity, sometimes resulting in abnormal taste and smell perceptions, leading to food cravings or aversions. Olfactory Reference Syndrome (ORS) is a condition in which those affected have an excessive preoccupation with the concern that body odor may be foul or, on a good day, unpleasant. HUMAN PHEROMONES A pheromone is a secreted or excreted  chemical  factor that triggers a social response in members of the same  species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting outside the body of the secreting individual to impact the behavior of the receiving individual. While humans are highly dependent upon visual cues, when in close proximity smells also play a big role in sociosexual behaviors. There is an inherent difficulty in studying human pheromones because of the need for cleanliness and odorlessness in human participants. The focus of the experiments on human pheromones has been on three classes of putative pheromones: axillary steroids, vaginal aliphatic acids, and stimulators of the  vomeronasal organ. Pheromones have been demonstrated clearly in other species, but their existence and ability to affect humans is still under debate. Several studies have been conducted that have reached different conclusions, but some pheromone effects seen in other mammals are definitely present in humans. Most studies have found that human sweat or putative pheromones increase physiological arousal, one way or another. This idea that something we cant even consciously smell is affecting our behavior is horrifying to some people, but in reality we are controlled by the combination of all our senses! Gustav Jà ¤ger (1832-1917), a German doctor and hygienist is thought to be the first scientist to put forward the idea of human pheromones. He called the manthropines. He said they were lipophilic compounds associated with skin and follicles that mark the individual signature of human odors. Lipophilic compounds are those that tend to combine with, or are capable of dissolving in lipids. Researchers in the University of Chicago claimed that they managed to link the synchronization of womens menstrual cycles to unconscious odor cues. The head researcher was called Martha McClintock, hence the coined termthe McClintock effect. When exposing a group of women to a whiff of sweat from other women, their menstrual cycles either accelerated or slowed down; depending on when during the menstrual cycle the sweat was collected before, during or after ovulation. The scientists said that the pheromone collected before ovulation shortened the ovarian cycle, while the pheromone collected during ovulation lengthened it. Even so, recent analyses of McClintocks study and methodology have questioned its validity. There are four principal kinds of pheromones: Releaser pheromones they elicit an immediate response, the response is rapid and reliable. They are usually linked to sexual attraction. Primer pheromones these take longer to get a response. They can, for example, influence the development or reproduction  physiology, including menstrual cycles in females,  puberty, and the success or failure of pregnancy. Signaler pheromones these provide information. They may help the mother to recognize her newborn by scent (fathers cannot usually do this). Modulator pheromones they can either alter or synchronize bodily functions. Usually found in sweat. There are differences between men and women in the types of glands, secretions and even microbial flora present in the axillary environment, suggesting a sex-specific role. Most of these glands do not become active until after puberty, suggesting a role in sexual communication. (Hays, 2003) Pheromone-like compounds are also found in salivary, seminal and urine secretions, but studies tend to focus on the most accessible: axillary sweat. Jacob (2000, 2001) found increased physiological effects, only noticed a positive increase in mood and increased arousal in women when the test administrator present was male. Men were unaffected by the sex of the tester, but had slightly less effects than females overall. They concluded that pheromones are incredibly context dependent. Humans must integrate many different brain functions to affect arousal and mood. Psychologists Rachel Herz and Estelle Campenni were just getting to know each other, swapping stories about their lives over coffee, when Campenni confided something unexpected: She was living proof, she said, of love at first smell. I knew I would marry my husband the minute I smelled him, she told Herz. Ive always been into smell, but this was different; he really smelled good to me. His scent made me feel safe and at the same time turned on—and Im talking about his real body smell, not cologne or soap. Id never felt like that from a mans smell before. Weve been married for eight years now and have three kids, and his smell is always very sexy to me. RESEARCH In the now famous T-shirt experiments it was shown that specific women chose as most sexy and pleasant smelling T-shirts belonging to men who had immune systems that were different from their own. Because we all possess different MHC genes (and body-odor), for every woman a different set of men will be delicious smelling and others wont be. Theres no Brad Pitt of body odor! A womans nose not only responds to a mans body-odor in terms of his biological suitability, women actually find how a man smells to be the most important factor in their sexual attraction. In two large studies were conducted to examine how important various physical and social status factors were for men and women when choosing a sexual partner, we discovered that above all other physical characteristics, women ranked a mans scent as the most important feature for determining whether she would be sexually interested in him. How a man smelled was also more much important than any social status factor. And of all physical characteristics women preferred a man to be better than average in his body-odor than anything else. Women also found men who smelled great due to the fragrance they wore irresistible. In the words of one respondent: If Im with a guy who smells really good, nothing else about him seems to matter. Among heterosexual couples, similar MHC profiles spell relational difficulty, Christine Garver-Apgar, a psychologist at the University of New Mexico, has found. As the proportion of MHC alleles increased, womens sexual responsiveness to their partners decreased, and their number of sex partners outside the relationship increased, Garver-Apgar reports. The number of MHC genes couples shared corresponded directly with the likelihood that they would cheat on one another; if a man and woman had 50 percent of their MHC alleles in common, the woman had a 50 percent chance of sleeping with another man behind her partners back. You encounter a particular smell, and it immediately transports you back to an earlier time and to a pleasant memory. A recent feature in the Association of Psychological Sciences’ Observer discusses the connection. Researchers have discovered that there is a strong connection between smells, emotions and early life experiences. In fact, there is a strong relationship between certain smells experienced very early in life, typically before age 5, that will trigger pleasant feelings and memories. This is particularly true for odors that we don’t smell every day. The reason for these associations is that the brain’s olfactory bulb is connected to both the amygdala (an emotion center) and to the hippocampus, which is involved in memory. And, because smells serve a survival function (odors can keep us from eating spoiled or poisonous foods), some of these associations are made very quickly, and may even involve a one-time association. But even in adulthood, we can easily make associations between smells and memories. You might draw a connection between a certain perfume or cologne and a first encounter with a friend or lover, or the scent of a certain food may transport you back to the first time you ate it. Among heterosexual couples, similar MHC profiles spell relational difficulty, Christine Garver-Apgar, a psychologist at the University of New Mexico, has found. As the proportion of MHC alleles increased, womens sexual responsiveness to their partners decreased, and their number of sex partners outside the relationship increased, Garver-Apgar reports. The number of MHC genes couples shared corresponded directly with the likelihood that they would cheat on one another; if a man and woman had 50 percent of their MHC alleles in common, the woman had a 50 percent chance of sleeping with another man behind her partners back. SURVEY A survey was conducted. The hypothesis was â€Å"Scent Attracts Attention†. A sample of 30 teenagers from the age 17-21 out of which 15 were females and 15 were males. Each one of them a questionnaire consisting of 17 questions. Some questions were ranged from 1- 5 and some were yes, no or may be. All the questions were given a score and accordingly the score was found out. The following were the questions given to the subjects. QUESTIONNAIRE Q1. How likely are you to initiate a conversation with a stranger on the basis of good fragrance that he/she is wearing? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q2. How likely are you to avoid having a conversation if the other person has a bad breath? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q3. Is good fragrance an important factor in framing first impression? Yes No Q4. Would you consider going for an aroma therapy? Yes No Q5. Do advertisements about perfumes or deodorants urge you to buy them? Yes No Q6. Have you ever been attracted to a person because of the way they smell? Yes No May be Q7. Do you feel that putting an external fragrance affects your self-esteem? Yes No May be Q8. What do you prefer, natural body odour or external fragrance? Natural odour or External fragrance Q9. Do you feel men and women have different body odours? Yes No May be Q10. Have you ever purchased body fragrances in order to improve your interpersonal relationship? Yes No Q11. How conscious are you about your body odour and its impact? Very unconscious Very conscious 1 2 3 4 5 Q12. Does deodorant/perfume attract people? Yes No Q13. How frequently do you use deodorants/perfume in a day? Never Once twice every few hours Q14. While travelling, can you tolerate other people’s body odour? Yes No Q15. Would you ever use external fragrances as a substitute to showering? Yes No Sometimes Q16. Do you buy soaps, body wash or talcum powder to help you enhance your body odour? Yes No May be Q17. Would you use gender specific deodorants/perfumes? Yes No QUESTIONNAIRE SCORING Q1. How likely are you to initiate a conversation with a stranger on the basis of good fragrance that he/she is wearing? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q2. How likely are you to avoid having a conversation if the other person has a bad breath? Very unlikely Very likely 1 2 3 4 5 Q3. Is good fragrance an important factor in framing first impression? Yes (5) No (1) Q4. Would you consider going for an aroma therapy? Yes (5) No (1) Q5. Do advertisements about perfumes or deodorants urge you to buy them? Yes (5) No (1) Q6. Have you ever been attracted to a person because of the way they smell? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q7. Do you feel that putting an external fragrance affects your self-esteem? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q8. What do you prefer, natural body odour or external fragrance? Natural odour (1) or External fragrance (5) Q9. Do you feel men and women have different body odours? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q10. Have you ever purchased body fragrances in order to improve your interpersonal relationship? Yes (5) No (1) Q11. How conscious are you about your body odour and its impact? Very unconscious Very conscious 1 2 3 4 5 Q12. Does deodorant/perfume attract people? Yes (5) No (1) Q13. How frequently do you use deodorants/perfume in a day? Never (1) Once (2) twice (3) every few hours (5) Q14. While travelling, can you tolerate other people’s body odour? Yes (1) No (5) Q15. Would you ever use external fragrances as a substitute to showering? Yes (5) No (1) Sometimes (3) Q16. Do you buy soaps, body wash or talcum powder to help you enhance your body odour? Yes (5) No (1) May be (3) Q17. Would you use gender specific deodorants/perfumes? Yes (5) No (1) Classification done according to the scores is the following: 17-34: Not attracted to scent at all 35-52: A little attracted towards scent 53-70: Moderate attraction towards to scent 71-85: High attraction towards scent The total score of females was 767. The total score of males was 792. The total score was 1559. The highest score one could get was 85. The lowest score one could get was 17. The highest total score could be 2550. The lowest total score could be 510. TOTAL No attraction towards scent: 0 A little attracted towards scent: 16 Moderate attraction towards to scent: 12 High attraction towards scent: 2 The conclusion of the survey was that there is little or moderate attraction towards scent. The hypothesis was proved correct, scent does attract attention. Males are attracted to scent more than females. References: www.psychology today.com www.wikipedia.com

The Powerful Message of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged Essay -- Atlas Shrug

The Powerful Message of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged       Capitalism, according to John Galt, is "mutual trade to mutual advantage," (Rand Atlas Shrugged 989) or as Adam Smith put it: "[trade] by mutual consent and to mutual advantage." In true capitalism, the economy is strictly separated from the state, just as there is a separation between church and state in the USA. This basic tenet of capitalism describes the only economic system that can be morally justifiable. Communism, fascism, socialism, dictatorships and "regulated capitalism" are all systems that breach upon an individual's basic rights, while capitalism respects and recognizes a man's right to control the product of his mind. In her philosophical treatise Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand uses fictional characters and events to dramatize the only economy that is consistent with man's rights and virtues.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before Ayn Rand, no one had ever seriously attempted to justify capitalism on moral grounds. It was a given that capitalism was immoral; the proponents of capitalism merely tried to exhibit the efficiency of the system (i.e., it is a "necessary evil"). Economists did this because they focused only on the people who would be helped by an anti-capitalist society: the "needy." What Ayn Rand presents so masterfully through Atlas Shrugged is the objective perspective of what is occurring in societies where people may take from others for the "public good"; in the novel, she repeatedly begs the question: "At whose expense?" When the People's State of Mexico nationalizes the San Sebastià ¡n mines, Ayn Rand clearly presents what is really happening: a gang of looters is robbing an honest business for their own benefit. In any other case, this wo... ...and certainly undeserving Orren Boyle can use it without compensation. Is that justice? It is clear that capitalism is the only economic system that gives people what they deserve; capitalism is economic justice.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Capitalism has been proven time and time again to be the most "effective" (in terms of production) economic system in existence, but this is only secondary to the primary fact that it is the only moral economy. In Atlas Shrugged Ayn Rand shows that, by its very nature, capitalism is freedom: the freedom for a man to do what he wants to do with the product of his own mind and effort and, the corollary to that, the freedom to live.    Works Cited Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Random House, Inc., 1957. ---. "Man's Rights." Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. New York: The New American Library, 1967. 286-94.      

Realism in Romantic poetry Essay

Reality is abstract, as it depends on every individual’s own perspective. When Wordsworth says, â€Å"world is too much with us†, it depends on us how we look at the world, as every being has a world of his own. We acknowledge the events around us with whom we can relate, but ignore many other changes considerable for others. Most of the times, Romantics are considered escapist, and are alleged that their writings reflect an Imaginary world far from the reality surrounding us. But going through various poems of Wordsworth and Coleridge, I find it vice versa. â€Å"All bright and glittering in the smokeless air. Never did sun more beautifully steep In his first splendor, valley, rock, or hill; Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! The river glideth at his own sweet will: Dear God! The very houses seem asleep; And all that mighty heart is lying still! † [Westminster Bridge; Wordsworth; Sept 3,1802] The allegation that Wordsworth moved from the harsh realities of the cities brought about by the industrial revolution initiated in 1765. This allegation was made relatively stronger by placing Wordsworth vis-a-vis Victorian realism. In my view such an allegation is a product of superficial readings of his poems. The poem composed upon ‘Westminster Bridge’ illustrates keen sense of socio-economy of the then London. It describes the urban landscape departing from his stock theme based on rural landscape. It talks about the landscape of the city which has been divested to its negative qualities. Like the smoke of the industries, the busy crowd, insensitive to its fellow man and the incessant desire in man to control nature. The term smokeless air is for him a matter to rejoice a state of the city distilled of the harmful effects of industrialization. The line, â€Å"the river glideth at his own sweet will† encapsulates the entire project of Wordsworth vis-a-vis the new call given by the middle class to conquer and exploit nature. In this sense his realism is much more pronounced and subtle than it is taken into account of. Citing from historical context, one can notice the involvement of the likes of Coleridge, Wordsworth and Lamb during French revolution. In 1798, the year ‘Lyrical Ballads’, a joint effort by Wordsworth and Coleridge, came out, was a turbulent period in England’s history. Hostilities had broken out between Her and France in 1793 (and was to last with unremarkable intermission for over twenty years), and by 1798, she was faring badly in the war. Wordsworth had, of course, visited France in 1791-92, and had been in Paris at perhaps the most critical of all the great moments of the French Revolution that began with the destruction of the notorious prison of the Bastille in July 1789. (Coleridge’s poem, An Ode on the Destruction of the Bastille). The political tussle between the Girondins and the Jacobins were at a height, and Wordsworth saw clearly the slow rise of the Jacobins under Robespierre. He felt a deep concern for the Girondin leaders whom he felt were the genuine revolutionaries. He believed in the â€Å"reasonableness† of human nature and also believed passionately that men were â€Å"worthy of liberty†. Wordsworth’s early republicanism, his concern for France and the Revolution is described memorably in his long and autobiographical Prelude: Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very Heaven! O times, In which the meager, stale, forbidding ways Of custom, law and statute, took at once The attraction of a country in romance! The prelude testifies to the shock that Wordsworth felt in his â€Å"moral nature† when he saw the Revolution that was to redeem mankind, turn to dust. For many, Tom Paine, William Godwin, Coleridge and Wordsworth, the French Revolution was not simply as struggle of a people to be free- it was mankind’s struggle to achieve something better- a new age for the entire human race- when aristocracy and class privilege would give to democracy and â€Å"Reason† would destroy the fetters of superstition and tyranny. Coleridge, like Wordsworth, had been swayed by the ideals of the Revolution, but the savagery and unrestrained mob frenzy under the Terror disillusioned him as did the rise of Napoleon and France’s aggressive conquests of other European nations. In France, An Ode and Fears in Solitude, Coleridge describe his feelings with candour: O France, that mockest Heaven, adulterous, blind, And patriot only in pernicious toils! Are these thy boasts, Champion of humankind? To mix with kings in low lust of sway, Yell in the hunt, and share the murderous prey; To insult the Shrine of Liberty with spoils From freemen torn; to tempt and to betray? [France, An Ode] British sympathizers of the French Revolution like Wordsworth, Coleridge and Southey were lampooned in the conservative press. Coleridge was so much influenced by William Godwin’s idea (Political Justice, 1793) of rejection of authority, abolition of private property, creation of a just state that along with Robert Southey, he was ready to set sail for America to establish a perfect state along the lines charted by Godwin. The political ideas of Wordsworth and Coleridge was also strengthened by pursuing the ideological goals of Unitarianism (which verged on radical deism) and drew heavily on the ideas of English â€Å"Commonwealthman† of the seventeenth century. Side by side to these intellectual debates between the conservatives and the liberals, the economic and the human cost of the war proving to be enormous. In the country, rural poverty was becoming acute and the number of beggars, starving children, gypsies, wounded soldiers roaming the country lanes could be seen from early poetry. Wordsworth’s poetic capability to recreate the sorrows and hardships of these homeless, starving populace is one of his lasting achievement as a poet. The Old Cumberland Beggar in poem of the same name, the traveler of Guilt and Sorrow, the blind London beggar in The Prelude are all powerful figures of forsaken humanity who become permanent symbols of the human condition. The effect of industrialization was viewed by both Wordsworth and Coleridge with a mixture of excitement and distrust. The new industrial cities- Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, by 1815, contained a large population that had come from the country to look for work, and both Wordsworth and Coleridge were increasingly worried about the rising number of poor. Against the expanding complexities of men living in an industrial wasteland, the destruction of old livelihoods and an increasing impossibility to believe in a benign Providence, harmony with Nature offered the Romantic poets another way of life. The disruptive force of the French Revolution added the impetus to romanticism. There are individual differences among the great romantic poets concerning the conception of nature. But all of them share a common objection to the mechanistic universe of the eighteenth century- even though Wordsworth admires Newton and accepts him, at least in the orthodox interpretation. All romantic poets conceived of nature as an organic whole, on the analogue of man rather than a concourse of atoms- a nature that is not divorced from aesthetic values, which are just as real (or rather more real) than the abstractions of science. My conclusion concerning the romantic poets may be unorthodox and even unconventional. On the whole political criteria seem grossly overrated as a basis for judging a man. References Blake, Wordsworth and Coleridge [Edited by Debjan Sengupta and Shernaz Cama; Worldview Critical Editions] The Prelude by William Wordsworth An Ode on the Destruction of the Bastille by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Essay on Roman Empire and Julius Caesar

Essay on Roman Empire and Julius Caesar Essay on Roman Empire and Julius Caesar Liam Downey-Wall 3-17-13 Comparison of the Stability of the Roman Republic vs. Roman Empire Julius Cesar abruptly transitioned from a republic to an empire In order to understand the comparative stability of the Republic vs. that of the Empire; we must first identify and discuss some of the characteristics of each. Only by evaluating the characteristics can we identify the more stable form of government. The Republic style of government is characterized by the following: a senate of 300 members yielding more power per person, dictatorship for 6 months at a time and an indirect democracy. The dictator’s term of 6 months at a time was hardly enough time to learn the issues and task at hand. The short terms of office created instability in the government. Some of the characteristics of an empire include the following: senate has 600 members, with a senate of 600 people that means less power per senator, an emperor for life, a position that is passed down from generation to generation, one ruler/monarch. This type of government gave more power to Caesar and less to the people. Due to the longer terms in office it allowed Caesar to make many more reforms, for example, redistribution of land and wealth and creation of Julian calendar. One upside to the change of empire was many reforms were made. Caesar kept the empire in the hands of his heir, so no one out side the Caesar family could rule. The Empire form of government served the people well

Analysis of the Stages in Life Span Development essays

Analysis of the Stages in Life Span Development essays When breaking down the life span into stages such as childhood, adulthood, and late adulthood; the break down seeks to bring unity to the life of human being, and ultimately helps us to understand the development of a person. The science of human developments seeks to understand how and why people change or remain the same over time at all ages in all different circumstances. Human beings are so complex in so many ways and it is important that as humans we understand these crucial developmental stages in our life to better communicate and prepare for these stages in our lives. I additionally wanted to focus on the level of moral development among the interviewees at each of the stages in development. To better understand the characteristics of these developmental stages, the moral reasoning developmental process and differences and similarities seen among the people of the interviewees; I interviewed eight individuals. I interviewed both a female and male in the school age, adolescence, emerging adulthood, adulthood, and older adulthood developmental stages. The interviewees were selected at random. I conducted a personal face to face interview with each interviewee. During the interview I asked a series of eight questions pertaining to their goals, accomplishments, worries, important people in their lives, fears they currently have as well as a scenario question pertaining to a moral dilemma. After conducting these interviews I was able to analyze the different stages in life span development further and make clear observations of similarities and differences between the interviewees. Although the interviews allowed me a great amount of observation as well as useful insight; the answers to these eight questions did not summarize in anyway the multi-contextual, multicultural, multidisciplinary, plastic, and multi-directional development of each person. I conducted an interview with a ten year old male and an eight year old fe...

The Great Depression Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Great Depression - Research Paper Example It began in the U.S but quickly spread to the entire world. It hit hard on major cities, especially those dependent on heavy industry. It took a toll on prices, tax revenue, personal income and profits. International trade shrunk by over 50% to 75%. Unemployment in the U.S increased to over 25%, while GDP fell by over 36%. Consumption declined and so did the industrial output. Additionally, it had political ramifications. It led to the election of President Roosevelt in U.S and the rise of Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany. Historians argue that it was one of the major causes of the World War II. Not even Roosevelt’s New Deal could pull the U.S economy out of the depression. Countries began to recover in the mid 1930s. Ironically, the beginning of World War II marked the end of the Great depression. Causes Recessions in a business cycle are normal, and a product of balances between demand and supply. What turned normal events into a recession has been a subject of widespr ead debate. A combination of domestic and international factors was culpable for the great depression: structural weaknesses and individual events. a) Boom to Bust The period following World War I is widely regarded as an era of prosperity for the American people. U.S.A had just emerged as a leading superpower. Business started thriving and the quality of life improved dramatically. There were post war reconstructions and low interest rates which ignited the boom. President Coolidge in his state of the nation address in 1929 noted that the nation had never witnessed better prospects than it did then. Automobiles were growing cheaper and more popular. Stock prices were on an upward trend. In fact, the Dow Jones Industrial Average quadrupled between 1924 and 1927. The market experienced the biggest bullish run ever. Many people thought that this was a permanent phenomenon. Many investors were lured into the stock market, some investing on margin using loans. According to Suddah (2008) , out of every 5 dollars loaned by banks, 2 were spent to buy stock. In essence, there was a huge supply of money, which primarily led to speculative stock prices. Besides stock markets, there was a boom in the real estate sector. There was a surge in the real estate sector particularly because of the low market interest rates. Why did the boom to bust contribute to the depression? Boom and bust is a normal feature of a capitalist economy. It was bound to end. It had been a period excessively easy monetary policy. There was a general absence of proper regulation in the monetary sector. It led to excessive speculation, where investors speculated that the share price would keep the upward trend. As a result of increased demand, the share prices became artificially higher: and did not reflect their real value. The speculative euphoria and the boom psychology created underlying weaknesses and imbalances within the economy. Consequently, the nation was not able to deal with the downward spiral in the economy. b) Stock Market Crash of 1929 The stock market crash is widely regarded as the major cause of the depression. The artificial prices of stocks were finally destroyed. What happened was that when the bull market came to an end, share prices began to fall as from September 3 1929. Speculators began sensing loses to their savings and even homes. On the Black Thursday, there were many people trying to offload their shares. That increased the supply while very few investors were willing to buy.

Managing across Cultures individual report Essay

Managing across Cultures individual report - Essay Example As a result of its influence, culture management across organizations has started getting importance in business terms and is currently the one of the most evaluated subject for business analysts researchers and. In the present study culture will be studied with respect to its various dimensions researched by known people. Few of the organizational behaviour and cultural theories will also be discussed in detail Critical analysis of theory and research Culture plays a major role in characterizing the environmental context in which firms operate and decide, chose strategies and structures. A culture essentially consists of the expectations, experiences, philosophies and values ingrained and the elemental brinks which holds an organization or an association together (Bennett, Aston and Colquhoun, 2000). In broader terms organizational culture comprises of visions, norms, working languages, systems, beliefs, symbols and habits. Since individuals work together in an organization as a tea m with a common goal of completing the job, the culture created in a firm will help the team members in understanding each other more successfully (Olsonand Kroeger, 2001). Hofstede defines culture as â€Å"the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others† (Hofstede et al., 1990). ... ee individuals are integrated with groups Masculinity and Femininity (MAS) - Masculinity represents society’s preference towards heroism, achievement, assertiveness as well as material rewards. On the other hand, Femininity refers preferring modesty, cooperation and care for underprivileged and weak and improving quality of life. Society is both competitive and consensus oriented (Hofstede and McCrae, 2004). Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) - it is the tolerance of a society towards ambiguity and uncertainty. It expresses the tendency of feeling uncomfortable with risks and unexpected changes. countries showing strong UI have rigid belief codes while weak UI society have more tranquil attitudes where practice is given more preference than principles Long term and Short term orientation- long term orientation refers to the society and their individual’s explore for virtues. On the other hand, short term orientation refers to preference for absolute truth. They are normative t hinkers and exhibit respect for traditions. Another model of cultural dimensions was given by Trompenaars. He classified cultures according to a mix of value and behavioral patterns. The research was particularly focused on business executives. Seven value orientations were evaluated. The seven dimensions were particularism versus universalism, individualism versus communitarians, emotional versus neutral, specific versus diffuse, ascription versus achievement, nature-human relationship and nature-time relationship. Trompennar’s work primarily focuses on sociology and includes two measurements for attitudes which were environment and time. Researchers have divided Trompennars theory into two different aspects. There are three ways to handle cultural problems and five individual dimensions. Edward