Saturday, September 14, 2019
Deception in Psychological research Essay
Deception in psychological research usually entails tricking people so that the researchers can get the answers they need or ascertain why things happen the way they do. There are many controversial topics in psychology and all of them seek to explain the things in our environment and peopleââ¬â¢s behavior. One of these controversial topics is hypnosis usage under cognitive psychology. Hypnosis is a good way of assisting in repressed memories. It has assisted many people in therapeutic procedures but its effectiveness is sometimes questionable by others. Hypnosis as a way of facilitating repressed memories Hypnosis is a form of Recovered Memory Therapy that helps a person with memory relapse to recall information that they cannot remember. A person does not necessarily mean that someone is asleep. Therefore it is a state between being awake and asleep. Trances serve as an example of hypnotic functions. Though they serve similar purposes, trances need to be differentiated from hypnosis because they are done deliberately as used in clinical procedures to help people with memory loss or lapses to regain them. The sympathetic nervous system controls arousals while the parasympathetic nervous system relaxation. These two systems do not function at the same time. When people are in the hypnotic state, they give up their consciousness and accept the inner truth (Richard, 1998). A person can undergo a deep trance where a person or the hypnotist facilitates the process or a lighter trance referred to as self hypnosis which individuals can create by themselves. This is where a person creates their own visual memory via meditation, listening to soft music or some other ways while maintaining a certain level of consciousness. Negative hypnosis occurs when people are easily influenced by what others say and the things they are exposed to. If people are told that they are not able to do certain things and they believe in such comments, then there is a likely hood that they will not accomplish they thing they have been discouraged. This is what constitutes the negative hypnotic state. Therefore, hypnosis is about expectations. If a person has positive expectations, then they can achieve any thing that they set for themselves but if they are negative, they are more likely to fail at whatever they decide on. Health care practitioners can therefore enhance the well being of their patients by assisting them in increasing their positive expectations. Hypnosis is important in helping sick with psychogenic amnesia or people who have lost their blocked certain memories as a result of traumatic experiences. It has been seen to work well for such patients. Research has shown some cases like child sexual as well as physical abuse can be forgotten. Likewise, evidence of recovery of the memories has also been shown (APA, 2001). At first, when the memory is being got, it presents itself in bits and pieces therefore more sessions with the person have to be conducted so as to help in recovering the memory. Traumatic memories often present themselves in a different manner than ordinary experiences. This is because this form of extreme information can interfere with other brain functions. Studies have suggested that traumatic memories that have been recalled are just as accurate as the traumatic memories that have been forgotten. Case study To examine whether hypnosis is an effective way of facilitating repressed memories, a study was conducted by Widom and Morris in 1998. The study included 23 adults; 12 females and 11 males who had been exposed to childhood abuse experiences and had repressed memory lapse in over 15 years. This group underwent hypnotic therapy for a period of three months (Widom & Morris, 1998). From the study, it was seen that the there is a difference in the way of recalling events between the women and the men. The women were willing to share the little pieces of information that they could recall but the men were not. This influenced the hypnotic procedures because little memory was collected on most of the males as compared to the women. As the sessions progressed, there were slight improvements in memory and this can be attributed to the intense impact of the traumatic experiences on the victims as was seem from those who managed to get some of their memory back. At the end of the study period, 53% of the women and 42% of the men had recovered their memory and were satisfied that it as true. A quarter of those studied who managed to get their memory back had rejected their results saying that they may be false while the remaining never really got their memory back but said that so far they were pleased with their lives and would not engage in any other tests. From the study, we can say that hypnosis does work and can help people regain the memory they have lost. As the process was underway, most of the patients had a positive change in their personality as they said that they were more engaged in community activities as they were encouraged by the test takers. At the end of the study period, approximately half of the patients had got their memory back and this shows that if the procedures are done well and for a longer period, then people with previous traumatic incidents that need recovery can gain their memory back. About 25% of the individuals said that they usually kept to them selves and this can be a contributing factor as they do not trust the therapists to help them recover the memory. Various studies have also shown that events in a personââ¬â¢s life influence their behavior as well as interpersonal relations with others. From the above case, the unwillingness of some clients to share basic information limited the process. Some of those who refused said that as much as they wanted to get their memories back, said that it would probably affect them in a negative way. If they did, the numbers would have definitely increased. ââ¬Å"There is conflict between the in formation a person wants to know and what they would like to forget all together. Some people may remember too much too little and this may be good or bad depending on the context they are presented (Herman, 1995). â⬠Nowadays, some people feel that there are not enough scientific research studies to back up the credibility of the various research memories. Others continue to say that one cannot completely tell whether the results got are true or of they are based on what the hypnotist has been telling them. Even when the patient who agrees that the memory that they got was false, their condition can be worse when they suffer Post traumatic Stress Disorder. Some fear the use of hypnotic procedures on children because it would affect them psychologically and this is not helping in improving their situation. â⬠This kind of therapy confuses the mind as a person cannot tell the difference between what is real and imaginative and this has further contributed to the destruction of families (Rivera, 1993). â⬠In addition, they can deny certain memories because of guilt, the need to protect their families or may be reacting according to the stress levels they have been exposed to. The False Memory syndrome Association says that they have a lot of cases that are taken to court have shown that that some therapists are liars as they implant false memories on their patients (Thierry & Spence, 2004). With the increase in such cases, some judges refuse getting evidence that has been recovered through hypnotic procedures. ââ¬Å"Such methods of treatment have therefore also not been fully accepted in science as well as psychology (Schacter, 1996). â⬠In 1997, according to the U. S bureau of Justice statistics report on a survey of female inmates in jail, it was found that 36% of them had been abused when they were young and one third of them has been raped they were imprisoned. And further 16 case studies on child abused individuals for comparison was undertaken and it showed that about 15% of them were abused as children. This shows that as much as the experiences can be traumatic, not all of them are forgotten and if, they have been suppressed by the individual but they can be retrieved if proper therapy is used. Individuals can recollect a few things and these bits are necessary in the formation of the bigger picture. The few loopholes in research should not be a foundation for dismissing hypnosis in retrieving repressed memories. People have had serious accidents and this form of therapy has helped some who medication did not help in regaining their memories back. Hypnosis therapy is a powerful mechanism as it enables people to regain memories that they thought they could never regain as well as achieve certain goals they have set for themselves. ââ¬Å"This power and acceptance of hypnosis as a form of therapy is due to the fact that it deals with capabilities which appear to be beyond normal activities (Hopper& van der Kolk, 2001). â⬠Moreover, it gives people power to discover their inner being and stop actions such as smoking, drinking and other forms if addictions. Hypnosis also serves as a motivation for peopleââ¬â¢s engagement in physical activities and aids in reducing stress. This kind of therapy is helping in treating illnesses and certain disorders (De Vos & Louw, 2008). Hypnosis is also used as a form of therapy in children as a form of helping in changing their behavior and assisting in improving their health. In addition, hypnosis enhances personality enrichment by improving peopleââ¬â¢s self esteems, self confidence such that they get the courage to speak out in public when initially they could not. ââ¬Å"Weight loss motivation, healthy eating and exercise, better sleep for people with seeing disorders, controlling anger, and controlling peoples fears among other things (Thierry & Spence, 2004). â⬠Reliability and Validity of Research The study was reliable because the results indicated the specific responses of the individuals and since the study sample was small, it was easier to monitor individual progress. This would not have been the case if it were a larger number. Those individuals who were found out to have been sexually abused when they were young said that that was a possibility and most knew the individuals further proving that the results were reliable and valid. In addition, the individuals all showed up for the sessions as required therefore the lack of memory recovery could not be attributed to not attending the sessions. On top of these, no form of biasness was seen as the procedures were made as standard as possible and all variables that needed to be controlled were checked. Conclusion Hypnosis therapy usage is acceptable in society has it has helped a lot of people in more than one way especially in facilitating repressed memories. After all, the main goal of the procedure is to assist in the well being of a person. These form of therapy needs to be supported in increasing its evidentiary weight such that these memories can be used as evidence in the courts of law. Clinicians as well as psychotherapists therefore need to be skilled in this area for them to be able to properly guide the procedure so that the clients can get true memories which are part o their whole being and without them they are not complete. References American Psychological Association (APA) 2001. Understanding Child Sexual Abuse Rivera, Joseph. ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËTrauma searchesââ¬â¢ plant the seed of imagined misery,â⬠The Sacramento Bee, May 18, 1993. Herman, J. L. (1995). Crime and memory. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 23, 5-17. H. M. De Vos and D. A. Louw (2008). Hypnosis-induced mental training programmes as a strategy to improve the self-concept of students Vol. 57, No. 2, Higher education journal 2008 Hopper, J. W. , & van der Kolk, B. A. (2001). Retrieving, Assessing, and Classifying Traumatic Memories. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, & Trauma, 4, 33-71; and Freyd, J. F. , & DePrince, A. P. (Editors). Trauma and Cognitive Science (pp. 33-71). Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press. Richard, S. C. July 1, (1998). The magic of hypnosis: is it childââ¬â¢s play? The Journal of Psychology Schacter, Daniel L. (1996). Searching for Memory ââ¬â the brain, the mind, and the past. New York, Basic Books. Thierry, KL, Spence MJ (2004). Contemporary hypnosis Widom, C. S. & Morris, S. (1998). Adult recollections of childhood victimization: Childhood sexual abuse. Psychological Assessment, 8, 412-421.
Bill of Rights
In the effort to ratify the Constitution from 1787 to 1788, the Federal father pledged to the state, so the Bill of Rights represents the oath of the United States of America. Many countries have created several conditions for ratification; amendment adjuncts compared to the central government can guarantee that citizens are protected like human rights security measures Integration is a way of protecting these countries It is a means of fundamental command of the people, they themselves are shocked by the center The English Bill of Rights was founded in 1689, the American Bill of Rights was founded in 1789. After a long absence, the American Bill of Rights was influenced by Britain. Let's start with the British Rights Banquet, which was created after the glorious revolution that overturned the King of James II and replaced him with his daughter Mary and her husband, William Orange. The English Bill of Rights in the UK was written by the Special Council and stated the mistake of King James 1, including the permission of free elections, the arrest of peaceful protesters, the application of cruel punishment. The bill also limits the official authority including the right to claim the king, the right to carry weapons, the free election of parliamentarians, freedom of speech by parliamentarians, and any ban on the establishment of the Catholic Church. A church The British Parliament enacted the Bill of Rights in 1689. The Bill of Rights in 1689 provides ordinary parliament, free elections, rules of freedom of speech in parliament, and restrictions on the power of the monarch. Unlike most other European countries (like the 1688 glory revolution) it guarantees that the royal absolute doctrine will not beat. 1707: The first British parliament was formed under federal law 1707 after the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Scottish Kingdom. From 1721 to 1842, Robert Walpole was regarded as the first prime minister of the UK, served as the chairman of the Cabinet Gen eral Assembly, appointed all other ministers, and formulated the theory of unification of the cabinet. In 1689 the Bill of Rights was complemented in England by the Settlement Act of 1701, in Scotland, claims were supplemented by Union Act 1707. The Bill of Rights and the Claims Act seriously contribute to the establishment of the UK. The advantage of Congress, and the reduction of the right of monarchy. They solved the political and religious confusion that impacted Scotland, UK, Ireland mainly in the 17th century. Two main reasons for the legislation and claim right to establish British Constitution Bill of rights The government has moral obligations to serve people and protect their rights, freedom and wealth.The Constitution was enacted to establish a more powerful central government to protect people's rights.The author of the Convention Although it aims at securing the safety of citizen's rights, most modifications are applied to daily life but can not be realized.Right and revision IV protect citizens from unfair search and seizure I will. In 1791, the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution. The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to our Constitution. The Bill of Rights guarantees certain rights of citizens. These rights include freedom of speech and religion, the right to have weapons, the right to put soldiers at home, and the right to search unfairly. The Bill of Rights limits the power of our government. Therefore, these two documents limit what the government can do. What is the similarity between Magna Carta and Bill of rights? Is there another piece of paper considered to be a two-dimensional object or a three-dimensional object? The UK Human Rights Act and the Bill of Rights have similarities and differences. Both documents guarantee citizen's specific freedom. In our Bill of Rights, some of the rights of citizens, such as freedom of speech and religion, the right to possess weapons, the right to arrange soldiers at home, and rights are guaranteed. To avoid unfair search by the government. These are individual rights The UK Bill of Rights is a legislation that protects specific rights of British citizens from the influence of the king. Subsequently, the Bill of Rights was added to Solution in 1701. Both of these bills help to establish Congress 'sovereignty, give absolute sovereignty to Congress' parliament, and become the best right among all other government agencies. The Bill of Rights also reduced many of the powers of kingdom power. Indeed, the US Bill of Rights is based on the British Rights Bibliography. Bill of Rights In 1791, the Bill of Rights including 10 amendments was approved as a constitution. The purpose of this document is to clarify freedom of those who can not infringe by the government. Many think that this will be necessary, and the Bill of Rights is responsible for two different factions, intense debate among federalists and anti-Federalists. Federalists think that a new alliance should be established by a strong central government and individual local governments. Definition of the English Bill of Rights in 1689 The meaning and definition of the English Bill of Rights in Britain: The English Bill of Rights in 1689 was a British law, passed by the British Parliament in 1689 and declared people's rights and freedoms. After James II was defeated in 1688, William and Mary inherited the 1688 glory revolution. Ã ¿ Parliamentary elections and free elections frequently held in 1/2 parliament - Freedom of speech should be enjoyed in Congress - We should not propose troops at peace - we can not collect tax without the authority of Congress - More fine, cruel and unusual punishment The British Parliament enacted the Bill of Rights in 1689. The Bill of Rights in 1689 provides ordinary parliament, free elections, rules of freedom of speech in parliament, and restrictions on the power of the monarch. Unlike most other European countries (like the 1688 glory revolution) it guarantees that the royal absolute doctrine will not beat. 1707: The first British parliament was formed under federal law 1707 after the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Scottish Kingdom. From 1721 to 1842, Robert Walpole was regarded as the first prime minister of the UK, served as the chairman of the Cabinet General Assembly, appointed all other ministers, and formulated the theory of unification of the cabinet. Bill of Rights In 1791, the Bill of Rights including 10 amendments was approved as a constitution. The purpose of this document is to clarify freedom of those who can not infringe by the government. Many think that this will be necessary, and the Bill of Rights is responsible for two different factions, intense debate among federalists and anti-Federalists. Federalists think that a new alliance should be established by a strong central government and individual local governments. Definition of the English Bill of Rights in 1689 The meaning and definition of the English Bill of Rights in Britain: The English Bill of Rights in 1689 was a British law, passed by the British Parliament in 1689 and declared people's rights and freedoms. After James II was defeated in 1688, William and Mary inherited the 1688 glory revolution. Ã ¿ Parliamentary elections and free elections frequently held in 1/2 parliament - Freedom of speech should be enjoyed in Congress - We should not propose troops at peace - we can not collect tax without the authority of Congress - More fine, cruel and unusual punishment The British Parliament enacted the Bill of Rights in 1689. The Bill of Rights in 1689 provides ordinary parliament, free elections, rules of freedom of speech in parliament, and restrictions on the power of the monarch. Unlike most other European countries (like the 1688 glory revolution) it guarantees that the royal absolute doctrine will not beat. 1707: The first British parliament was formed under federal law 1707 after the merger of the Kingdom of England and the Scottish Kingdom. From 1721 to 1842, Robert Walpole was regarded as the first prime minister of the UK, served as the chairman of the Cabinet General Assembly, appointed all other ministers, and formulated the theory of unification of the cabinet.
Friday, September 13, 2019
Economics & Glob Bus Apps Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Economics & Glob Bus Apps - Essay Example Task 1 Relationship between Marginal Revenue and Marginal Cost Marginal revenue is defined as the revenue generated by the sale of one extra unit of a product. Whereas total revenue means the entire revenue generated by the total quantity sold. (Sloman) Marginal cost is defined as the cost of producing one extra unit of a product. Whereas total cost refers to the sum of all the expenses incurred by a company, to produce all the units of the product. (Sloman) Profit is the excess of revenue over cost. Profit is defined as the return that a person gets on investment. In economics, there are three types of profit: normal profit, abnormal profit and subnormal profit. (Sloman) However, the term profit maximizing means that a firm is operating at a point where the difference between its total revenue and total cost is highest. (Lipsey & Harbury, 1992) The profit maximizing firms produce where their marginal revenue equals their marginal cost. Now common sense will suggest producing where t he revenue brought by an additional unit is the greatest and the corresponding cost is the lowest but at this point the total production and the total profit will be very low. Thus the firm will not be maximizing profit at all. So to fulfill the definition and requirement of profit maximization, a firm has to produce where MR=MC. In addition to that, MC and MR are the gradient functions of both TC and TR curves. So when both gradients get equal, the curves get parallel and the distance between them becomes the greatest. (Lipsey & Harbury, 1992) If a profit maximizing firm is faced with a situation where its MC increases its MR, then it will have to reduce its production. This is due to the simple rule that MR reduces as the production increases and MC increases with it. So to get back to the equilibrium, the firm will have to reduce the production. (Lipsey & Harbury, 1992) On the other hand, if the firmââ¬â¢s MR exceeds its MC, then it will have to increase its production. This i ncrease will cause the MR to fall and the MC to increase and the equilibrium will be attained. (Lipsey & Harbury, 1992) Task 2 Supply and Demand Concepts Elasticity of demand is defined as the measure of ââ¬Ëresponsiveness of the demandââ¬â¢ of any good or service with a change in its price. It can also be defined as a ratio of the ââ¬Ëpercentage change in the demand and the percentage change in the priceââ¬â¢. Elasticity of demand is of three types. Elastic demand is the demand that responds greatly to a small price change. Inelastic demand shows a smaller change in quantity following a greater change in price. Unit elastic demand shows the same change in demand and price. Price Elasticity of Demand can be calculated by the following formula: Percentage change in quantity demanded / Percentage change in the price. (Sloman) Cross price elasticity of demand gives us the effect on the demand of one good due to a change in the price of other good. Therefore, cross price ela sticity of demand is a measure of the relationship between percentage changes in the demand of one
Thursday, September 12, 2019
Greek Mythology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Greek Mythology - Essay Example The inhabitants of Olympus are not ideal characters. They are vain, mercenary, passionate. The most striking feature of Greek Gods is their envy. Gods envy plain people, and a man, who gained a success, is the first to be afraid of the Godsââ¬â¢ rage. Maybe, it was a way to explain the exchange of good and bad periods of life. ââ¬Å"In general, the ancient Greeks would consider something bad in their lives as a punishment for gods. If they had a disease, they would pray to the gods to forgive his sins. If a floud would occur and destroy their city, they would make a sacrifice to calm down the gods. From this, it can be seen that there was a sense of respect and fear between people and the gods and that people didnt feel free to live their lives, but thought that everything would come or be taken away from themâ⬠(Greek Mythology). Gods are depicted as strong, dangerous creatures one should be careful with. And their human traits reflected the attitude of Greeks and Romans tow ards the world. The right way to make them pleased was to make sacrifices. However, there were people and heroes, who struggled against gods. Prometheus is a well-known who gave fire to men and went against Gods. The popularity of this myth can be explained by a fascinating plot, dynamics of events and deep ideas rooted inside the myth. A classical Greek myth about this outstanding character discusses the struggle for freedom (Price and Kearns, 2003). Another example is Odysseus, who could deceive anyone including divine creatures. He represents one of the greatest humans who is the master of his own life and is not afraid of gods. Greek gods do not appear on their own, they were born by their parents, they need to eat and drink, they get tired and go to sleep, they canââ¬â¢t be killed, but can be injured. At the same time the Gods are not all-powerful, they also depend on destiny like people and heroes. In Greek mythology destiny is
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Benchmarking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words
Benchmarking - Essay Example The objective of this report is to highlight the methods that could give an exact idea of the performance of the companies and how well they use their resources. This report doesnââ¬â¢t consider just one perspective for the judgment of the company. Its discussion is on the basis of both the financial and non-financial factors of the company. Besides these market perception and working environment with the potential of and for the workforce have been discussed.in order to gain the complete perspective of the companies. In this report the two companies selected for the benchmarking or comparison are not only the leading companies in their industry but also on of the biggest companies overall in the global ranking. The report gives the detailed comparison of Apple and Microsoft complete analysis have been made in order to get a conclusion regarding the performance of both companies in comparison to each other. ... Apple and Microsoft have global presence and compete on international market. They both are technology based companies however they have diverse range of products and compete on different level for every market and product that they offer. Both companies almost compete in every sector of the industry as the nature, aspects and operations of their business are quite similar thus the competition is quite cut throat and is mostly regarding capturing the market share not only in the American market but on the global scale. Thus there financial data can be compared as both companies have same target market, business operations and market environment thus any difference can be associated to the non-financial factors of the company. Company Details Both the companies are technology based and compete almost in all of their product and market segments. They maintain their own stores, authorized dealers and online stores. The principle executive offices or the registered headquarters of both A pple and Microsoft along with their registered exchange, ticker symbol and logo are as follow: APPLE INC. 1 Infinite Loop Cupertino, California, USA Registered on ââ¬Å"The NASDAQ stock market LLCâ⬠Ticker Symbol AAPL MICRODOFT CORPORATION One Microsoft Way Redmond, Washington, USA Registered on ââ¬Å"The NASDAQ stock market LLCâ⬠Ticker symbol MSFT (Investing.money.msn.com, 2013) Company Background and Profile Apple Inc. Apple is a California corporation that was established in 1977 and today along with its subsidiaries design, manufactures and markets mobile communication devices, media devices, personal computers, portable digital music players and long
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Report discussing Spotify's strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Report discussing Spotify's strategy - Essay Example Spotify should use current technology to be stable and compete with the other companies. Introduction Spotify is a Swedish online streaming company offering online music service to the user that they can stream up to 15 million tracks on demand by using unique technology. It still lags behind after Pandora as a market leader. Spotify also introduced lightweight software, which allows an instant listening to albums and tracks without buffering delay. Consumers subscribe monthly premium to access the service. Spotify paid free subscriptions to everyone in order to expand the rate of service (Gammons, 2012). The company offered free accounts and opened free registration in United Kingdom. Spotify closed opened registration when Spotify mobile service was released. Technology is a growing necessity in all types of businesses. As time goes, people learn the importance of technology one by one. This make it impossible to separate technology from the people as it is necessary in day-to-day activities. Technology in Spotify has brought tremendous growth in the company through advertising. Sporty can post their new services online to create new revenue streams and new markets. Technology is also important in decision-making process leading business managers and chief executive officers to focus on innovation in business (Marshall, 2012). Spotify has divided the digital music industry into two submarkets; digital download market consisting of Amazon and iTunes and streaming market which has many competitors. According to the study conducted in 2011, the revenue of digital music industry has grown by 8%. The growth rate of streaming market is greater than that of the download market. Streaming market generates 10% of the revenue of digital music industry (Marshall, 2012). Many companies with similar business models operate in streaming industry leading to strong competition in the market. Companies can only be differentiated from each other by; features regions of operati ons, variations in packaging and licensing of music libraries. The costs of switching from one streaming service to another are very high. This has created a limited compatibility and transfer between the streaming services. The streaming companies are trying to include network effects in their services by introducing social components. Users are granted permissions to create collaborative playlists, they can follow what other people, and friends are listening on the network (Daft, 2011). Network effect adds value to the services leading to attraction of more clients. Streaming companies has essential partners and record labels are natural which creates ready market with strong indirect network effects. Availability of content is important to attraction of customers. When there is large music in the library, the streaming service will be much popular. The streaming industry is a two-sided market where companies should create virtuous circle between customers and record labels. When the subscribers and users are more in a service, there should be more labels having their music recorded on the services. This will lead to attraction of more customers to the larger library available. On the other hand, it is expensive to obtain streaming rights to a large library for successful streaming of services. The primary tactic on how to gain market share is
Monday, September 9, 2019
Commercial Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Commercial Contracts - Essay Example This paper examines two approaches for interpreting commercial contracts in courts of law. The paper assesses the literal and purposive approach to examining and interpreting contracts in courts of law. The paper will assess the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches and come up with a conclusion on the subject and the evolution process. Literal Approach In commercial contracts, the parties come up with their own terms for the exchange of consideration between them. As such, they write down the terms and conditions for the exchange of consideration. According to Lord Staughton, where there is a dispute in such a contract, the court needs to detect the meaning of the terms and this is a question of law for the judge and not a question of fact for the jury4. Hence, the Judge presiding over the case needs to use an approach to ascertain the facts and what the parties in the contract meant in order to resolve the issue at hand. In the past, most courts used the literal approa ch, this is steeped in the objective approach to the interpretation of contracts5. This is based on the premise that ââ¬Å"... the intentions in the heart of a person is not in man's ability to judge, but change caused by reason of the promiseâ⬠6. Traditionally, the law of contract is based on negotiations and the promises that were exchanged during negotiations. Also, some of the core maxims of the law of contract made it difficult for the judges to use any other methodology than the literal approach. For instant, English law states that consideration must be sufficient and not adequate. This therefore means that the doctrine of ââ¬Å"caveat emptorâ⬠, which requires the parties entering a contract to be careful, will act as an estoppel to prevent judges from interpreting the law in any system or structure that would support an attempt to assess intent. Strictly speaking, the objective approach should be the basis for the interpretation of contracts even if it causes ser ious hardships for one of the parties. In the case of Arcos Ltd V E. A. Romaasen and Sons7, it was held that any express term that is breached in contract renders it null and void. This is because the express terms often form conditions and these conditions must be discharged, otherwise the aggrieved party gets the right to back out of the contract. In Bunge Corporation V Tradax SA8, there was a contract for the mercantile supply of goods. Clause 7 of the contract gave one of the parties the right to terminate the contact if there was a delay. Lord Wilberforce held that time was of the essence in the contract and in the mercantile industry, time lapses were severe enough to merit a cancellation of an entire contract. Lord Scarman and Lord Roskill concurred. Some judges like Lord Staughton hold the view that the court needs to be very careful not to overlook the original terms of the contract to apply new interpretations9. This means that the literal approach is the default Common La w approach to cases relating to the law of contract. Purposive Approach In Codelfa V State Rail Authority10, Lord Brennan stated that ââ¬Å"the symbols of language convey meaning according to the circumstances in which they were usedâ⬠. This therefore means that words in itself are meaningless and the literal application of such words might be devoid of the bigger picture and have some limitations. As such, a Judge will need to use a purposive approach to integrate the context,
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)