Berlin Blockade free essay sample

Each place had a 90 second interval to land and deliver food, looting, oil and building materials, this was extremely difficult as the corridor was full of soviet planes yet by September, 4600 tones was being flown into West Berlin. Therefore the blockade was a failure for the USSR as they failed to keep the West out and ended up giving in as the West were persistent in not withdrawing and showing how strong capitalism was as a whole. One cause of the Berlin Blockade is that the cold war was worsening because of events such as the Prague Coup, Conform and the Truman Doctrine. The Prague Coup was a time in which the Communists took over Czechoslovakia hat would start the process of introducing the Marshall Plan and the policy of containment as the East had been allowed to take over and spread the communism sphere of influence. After the Truman Doctrine had been created, Conform was created by the Soviets in response to it and focused mainly on politics as politicians were linked to the Soviets and they had to do what Stalin wanted. This therefore was the start of Blockade as it was starting to show how opposite they were and what they had in mind for Europe was completely clashing with each others ideas.Another cause was the Aims for Germany as this was one of the most significant examples of disagreement between the West and East. The aims for Germany were first discussed at the Yalta conference in Feb./March 1945 and also at the Potsdam conference in July/August 1 945 and whereas Stalin wanted Germany to stay weak and divided so that this meant there was no threat to the USSR, the West (made up of Britain, France and the USA) wanted Germany to be prosperous again.This was because they were giving them money and food therefore damaging their economy but also because a wealthier and therefore stronger Germany loud mean that it could become the Wests first line of defense against the USSR. This signified that they wanted to speed up economic recovery of Germany. This was a cause of the Berlin Blockade because it was breaking both Yalta and Potsdam agreements as the West got scared and the East were pushing boundaries. Similarly to this, Begonia is also considered a cause of the Blockade as this was also going against the agreements of both conferences.Begonia was the unification of Britain and the Aquas zones in Germany. This made the rebuilding Of Germany easier and therefore made Germany stronger for any future attacks. This would have been a problem for the East and West because it scared Stalin as he believed it was a threat to attack. Therefore this was yet another problem that had aroused between the capitalists and communists as it was seen as tactic to rebuild Germany stronger than before putting everyone at risk if there was an attack. Another cause of the Blockade was investment in West Germany as this may have looked to Stalin as a chance of strengthening the economy and military as possibly a threat to the East. There were a number of things that made the investment more significant such as the Marshall Plan/Marshals Aid. Marshall Aid was to do with the containment of communism by helping all countries in Europe who wished for economic assistance including West Berlin. This was a tactic by the West to try and stop the countries struggling from turning to communism henceforth increasing Stalins communist sphere of influence across Europe.This would have made the West to look weaker than they actually were if the policy of containment hadnt been successful. Finally the last cause of the Berlin Blockade was the New Currency situation that occurred in the winter of 1947-48. There was a discussion on the introduction of a new currency between the East and West yet Stalin was completely opposed to the idea. Interestingly, the West went against Stalins feelings and introduced a new currency called the Deutsche. They didnt however; introduce the currency in West Berlin.The East, in retaliation, also introduced their own currency but also introduced it in East Berlin. This then led to the introduction of the Deutsche in West Berlin. This therefore suggested that now they were competing with each other for power and there now was a gig point of tension across the whole of Europe. These factors all led to the Berlin blockade because as a result of these, when the main autobahn was closed for repairs, the USSR stopped all rail traffic between the West and Berlin.It also suggested a build-up of tension and anger between the two sides that had been less noticeably present for quite some time yet had never been addressed before. The main reason for the Berlin blockade was Begonia and was a bigger reason that the cold war worsening, aims for Germany and new currency/investment in West Germany because this now meant that are owe two super sectors and meant that West Germany had a Western influence.This would anger Stalin because he might think that Germany is becoming stronger and being built back up by the West and prove a bigger threat to him. The Berlin Blockade was the first time that the former allies had ever come close to fighting each other and therefore the consequences of the airlift/blockade were enormous and damaging for any relationship the CSS and USSR had. One consequence of the blockade was the Arms Race as this showed significant fear and tension between Stalin and Truman.In 1 945, America developed the A-Bomb without the Soviets being informed, then in 1949, the Soviets had successfully managed to develop the A-Bomb; this happened 3-4 years earlier than expected by the Americans. This meant that both sides feared each other as they felt they were in danger and began to rapidly build up their armies and weapons in the 1 asss American doubled its air force and increased army to 3. 5 million men. As the arms race continued to develop as a fast pace, the H-Bomb was developed by the USA in 1952 and by 1 953 so had the Soviets. This again was much quicker than expected and showed the development within the USSR technology. Overall by the sasss both had the H-Bomb which could wipe out an entire city, 852 bombers (Americans) could com platelet destroy Moscow and if the Russians attacked America, roughly 20 million would die. A significant development In the Arms Race was when in 1957, the USSR developed Spics before America.This therefore showed that Arms Race had become increasingly competitive after the Berlin Blockade. Another consequence linked to the Arms Race was the development of NATO and the Warsaw Pact as this also showed increasing fear and distrust between the two sides. The North Atlantic Treaty Association (NATO) was an organization set up by the West to protect against the USSR. Originally 1 2 western states signed the pact and agreed that they would support the other if one was attacked.A major problem with NATO was that it only had 14 army divisions whereas the USSR and its allies had 173. The USSR condemned NATO by claiming that the west was preparing for war and then when West Germany were allowed to join, Stalin created the Warsaw Pact in 1955 as retaliation to NATO. All Eastern European countries mined except Yugoslavia and similarly to the terms in NATO, they would protect each other if they were attacked. Both NATO and the Warsaw Pact were military alliances and based on collective security.This therefore showed that neither side actually trusted each other even though they used to be legalities a few years before, it showed the differences between them and highlighted how little they actually had in common in terms of working together. Also there is the fact that East and West German were created in 1949. May 1949 was the time when the western allies brought their zones gather to form the State Of West Germany commonly known as the FROG the Federal Republic of Germany.This then resulted in the eastern allies also bringing their zones together to form the state of East Germany officially known as the GIRD German democratic republic. Additionally to this, Berlin was also more divided than it used to be and therefore much like when West Germany was created by the western allies, West Berlin was created by Britain, America and France. To compete with this change in the West, the East Berliners were encouraged to start thinking of themselves as a part of East Germany by the USSR.This therefore suggests that there was a competition for power and control within Europe be;en the two of them and also it showed that all agreements in the past regarding Germany were off and that it was a case of trying to build up their individual empires. This can be linked to the Berlin wall because when Khr ushchev came into power, he saw that the GIRD, even though they remained loyal to the USSR, were fragile and struggling and were therefore often faced with a prosperous FROG and as a result of this, millions were fleeing over the border to have a happier fife within the ERG.

Model of the social contract

Socrates and the Third Argument on Social Contract In the argument on social contract, Plato presents a model of the social contract that ties the citizen to the law. However, we ought to take care when comparing the Socratic social contract concept with the modern concept of the social contract as perceived by Hobbes and Rousseau. In Rousseau’s concept, the state is an absolute outcome of the common will of the citizens.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Model of the social contract specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As such, the social contract is an arrangement among citizens to exist collectively under set laws. Plato, on the other hand, believes that the contract is between a specific native of the state and the law. Plato views the law as an actual entity while Rousseau sees it as an abstract construction designed for the people by the people. Plato’s representation of the state (law) a s an entity is creativity that generates an imagination of the meaning that Socrates conveys. The representation is meant to elicit a favorable mood for ethical contemplation. In this contract, the citizen pledges to submit to the law and to stand by the determinations of its courts. This is intended to maintain order and peace in the state. However, in portraying the law as directives that have to be observed, Plato shows the law as authoritarian. Plato’s theory, which equates the law to parents in a status of great authority, depicts them as dictators. Though the law can be coaxed into change, the citizens are meant to obey the law at all times. Socrates’ social contract argument implies that if one enjoys the advantages of citizenship, then he vows to obey the law of the state. A problem arises when a noncitizen breaks the law. Applying the principles of Plato’s theory becomes complicated as the person is not bound by the contract. The First Cause Developed b y Saint Thomas Aquinas, the first cause argument is based on the principle of sufficient reason, which we use each day in science and normal thinking processes. When we encounter something new we naturally try to establish its cause. If it appears that there is no physical cause, we often consider a psychological cause and ultimately resort to a supernatural explanation. Eventually, we discover that the world is made up of a chain of causes with one cause linked to the next.Advertising Looking for critical writing on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Human existence, for example, can be traced back to billions of causes all the way from the big bang theory to the progression of the protein molecule. The main concern here is the cause of the universe in its entirety and not the causes of its components. There is a cause that precedes all the causes. To deny such a cause means a retreat down the chain of causes including the denial of the doubter’s own existence. If we stick to the chain of causes and concede that indeed an uncaused cause exists, then there is a perpetual and necessary being who is the supreme cause. According to Aquinas, that uncaused necessary being can only be God. Some philosophers refute this argument on the basis of contradiction. They argue that the first premise implies causality in everything that exists, but the conclusion infers that there is something uncaused (God). To avoid such contradiction, the first premise can be changed to say that everything in motion has a cause or everything contingent has a cause. God is neither in motion nor contingent. A Sound Argument for the Existence of God: Argument to Design This is a teleological argument for the existence of God. According to this argument, the design (order) that exists in the world is proof for the presence of a gifted designer. This designer is in most cases identified as God. One of the classic proponents of this school is William Paley. Paley likens the intricacy of living things to the subordinate intricacy possessed by a watch, which we know is designed by a gifted being. According to Paley, living things cannot be without a maker in the same way a watch cannot exist minus a watchmaker. The argument from design asserts that the universe is specially designed for human occupancy. It also states that there are various ways in which the universe could have existed such as having altered laws of physics from the ones we know. The universe could have possessed a different planetary arrangement or even began with a bigger or smaller ‘big bang’ than it did. It could have occurred in a way that could not support life. The fact that the universe exists the way it does enables its inhabitation. The precision in design of the universe is a sign of a master planner at work.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Model of the social contract s pecifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The design argument is of extensive and persistent appeal. Theists appreciate that order and beauty are works of deliberate and intelligent design. Arguments supporting design are made to defend this notion and convince the atheists that it is the most reasonable argument for the existence of a supreme being. Though these arguments exist in various forms, their underlying principle is that the order we see is deliberately caused by an intelligent designer. Cartesian Dualism Dualism is the perspective on the body-mind problem, which proposes that the mental and the physical are real and distinct. In her correspondence to Descartes, Elisabeth of Bohemia sought clarification on how the material extended nature of the body could interact with the immaterial and (un-extended) mind. Descartes proposed a mechanistic interpretation of the material. He argued that though the body and mind are distinct, they stil l interact. Elisabeth wanted to know the exact nature of the interaction between the extended body and the un-extended mind. Since the immaterial mind is not extended, it cannot have direct interaction with the body. Descartes asserts that the place where this interaction takes place is the pineal gland (‘the seat of the soul’) in the human brain. In his view, this is the only component of the body that is not a duplicate. Descartes postulates that the brain collects neural signals from different body regions, which it sends to the mind. For instance, a signal of pain felt in the stomach is sent to the brain. It is imperative to note that (in the Cartesian view) the brain and the mind are not synonymous. Part of the duty of the brain (specifically the pineal gland) is to link the body to the mind. However, due to its physical extended nature the brain is not the mind. Unlike the body that is physical and reducible, the mind cannot be reduced.Advertising Looking for critical writing on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Cartesian view remains the most appropriate response to the dualistic nature of the body-mind problem since it makes a deliberate attempt to link the body and mind. Though Descartes recognizes the independent nature of the body and the mind, he still sees the need for their interaction as they both belong to the same individual. Emergent Materialism In evolutionary theory, emergent materialism is the growth of a system that cannot be projected or justified from antecedent forms. Generally, materialists refute the existence of the mind as a unit superior to physical existence. They maintain that feelings, impressions and ideas are produced by processes in the physical brain. Emergent materialism is a physically inclined theory that proclaims the mind as an irreducible element. The theory asserts that the study of mental occurrences is not dependent upon other sciences. In agreement with other varieties of non-reductive physicalism, emergent materialism is criticized for attemptin g to ‘have its cake and eat it.’ According to this view, there is an actual distinction between a conscious (rational) human and a simply physical or purely biological entity. To emergent materialists, a purely biological or physical account of human nature is a blind undertaking. Despite the fact that human beings are constituted of purely physical and biological components, reflection and deliberate activity make up new forms of composition of these physical constituents. This is done in accordance to a new and definite level of laws. In brief, human beings are not merely physical or biological objects as their mental processes are governed by psychological principles. An emergent property is dependent upon some fundamental properties of the object, and it can have no independent existence away from the object. However, the emergent proponents postulate a degree of independence in a way that the new forms are not reducible to their antecedents. This linkage between bo dy and mind makes emergent materialism the most applicable school of physicalism. This critical writing on Model of the social contract was written and submitted by user Madison Sargent to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Archduke Ferdinand essays

Archduke Ferdinand essays The Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand No other political murder in modern history has had such momentous consequences as the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He was the heir to the Habsburg empire, and the first to fall victim to political homicide. Unlike some constitutional monarchies in Western Europe, the Habsburgs had failed to modernize their multinational state. They used force to defend their institutions, and they were faced with a mass of revolutionary movements in Italy and Hungary. Although the Sarajevo assassins were Bosnians and thus Austro-Hungarian citizens, and although they had plotted against the Habsburg dignitaries for years, three leading members of the conspiracy, Princip, Cabrinovic, and Grebez, came to Sarajevo from Belgrade. They were armed with pistols and bombs, which they had obtained through some Bosnian youth from Major Voljislav Tankosic, one of the leaders of the Black Hand. Despite the common goal of national liberation shared by the Young Bosnians and the Black Hand alike they differed in their approach to internal problems in the South Slav society. The civilian authorities at the border informed the Serbian government that some members of the Black Hand were smuggling arms into Austro-Hungarian territory. An investigation was at once opened. They questioned Colonel Apis, the leader of the Black Hand, but he denied that his men were involved in these operations. There is a theory that there was a power struggle between Apis and Pasic, the Prime Minister who thought Apis was threatening the whole political system of Serbia. The struggle led Apis to approve the delivery of the arms to the Sarajevo assassins. It seems that Apis did not expect that Princip and his accomplices would succeed in killing the archduke. Colonel also thought that their efforts would provoke a greater strain in relations between Pasic and the Vienna government. These complications woul...

Eritrea Today

Eritrea Today In the 1990s, great things were expected of Eritrea, then a brand new country, but today Eritrea is most often referenced in the news for the flood of refugees fleeing its authoritarian government, and the government has discouraged foreign travelers from visiting. What is the news out of Eritrea and how did it get to this point? Rise of an Authoritarian State: Eritreas recent history After a 30-year war of independence, Eritrea achieved independence from Ethiopia in 1991 and began the difficult process of state building. By 1994, the new country had held its first - and only - national elections, and Isaias Afwerki was chosen as the President of Ethiopia. Hopes for the new nation were high. Foreign governments dubbed it one of the renaissance countries of Africa expected to chart a new path away from the corruption and state failures that seemed endemic in the 1980s and 90s.   This image collapsed though by 2001, when a promised constitution and national elections both failed to materialize and the government, still under the leadership of Afwerki, began to crack down on Eritreans. Development in a Command Economy The shift to authoritarianism came during a border dispute with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 into a two-year war. The government has cited the ongoing stalemate over the border and the need to build the state as justifications for its authoritarian policies, particularly  the much-hated national service requirement. The  border war and droughts reversed many of Eritreas earlier economic gains, and while the economy - under the governments strict controls - has grown since, its growth has been below that of sub-Saharan Africa as a whole (with the notable exceptions of 2011 and 2012, when mining boosted Eritreas growth to higher levels). That growth has not been felt equally either, and the poor economic outlook is another contributing factor to Eritreas high emigration rate. Health Improvements There are positive indicators. Eritrea is one of the few states in Africa to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals 4, 5, and 6. According to the UN, they have drastically reduced infant and young child mortality (having cut mortality of children under 5 by 67%) as well as maternal mortality. Exponentially more children are getting important vaccines (a shift from 10 to 98% of children between 1990 and 2013) and more women are receiving medical care during and after delivery. There have also been reductions in HIV and TB. All of this has made Eritrea an important case study in how to implement successful change, though there are continued concerns about neonatal care and the prevalence of TB. National Service: forced labor? Since 1995, all Eritreans (men and women) are forced to enter national service when they turn 16. Initially, they were expected to serve for 18 months, but the government stopped releasing conscripts in 1998 and in 2002, made the term of service indefinite.   New recruits receive military training and education, and afterwards are tested. The select few who score well enter coveted positions, but still have no choice about their occupations or wages. Everyone else is sent into what are described as menial and degrading jobs with extremely low pay, as part of an economic development plan named  Warsai-Yikealo. Punishments for infractions and evasions are also extreme; some say they are torture.   According to Gaim Kibreab the involuntary, indefinite nature of service, coerced through threat of punishment, qualifies as forced labor, and therefore is, according to international conventions, a modern form of slavery, as many in the news have described it. Eritrea in the News: Refugees (and cyclists) Events in Eritrea have gained international attention largely due to the large numbers of Eritrean refugees seeking asylum in neighboring countries and Europe. Eritrean emigrants and youth have also at high risk of human trafficking. Those who manage to escape and establish themselves elsewhere send back much-needed remittances and have sought to raise awareness about and concern for the plight of Eritreans. While refugees by nature represent the disaffected within a country, their claims have been borne out by third party studies. In a very different note, in July 2015, Eritrean cyclists strong performance in the  Tour de France  brought positive media coverage to the country, highlighting its strong cycling culture. The Future While it is believed that opposition to Aswerkis government is high, there is no clear alternative in place and analysts do not see change coming in the near future. Sources: Kibreab, Gaim. Forced Labour in Eritrea.  Journal of Modern African Studies  47.1 (March 2009): 41-72. United Nations Development Project, Eritrea Abridged MDG Report, Abridged Version, September 2014. Woldemikael, Tekle M. Introduction: postliberation Eritrea. Africa Today 60.2 (2013)

Performance of Saudi Stock Market Research Paper

Performance of Saudi Stock Market - Research Paper Example According to Alshogeathri (2011), the Saudi stock market has experienced six major market collapses since it was formalized in 1984. During these collapses several million worth of investments was lost by the investors and the substantial debts accrued by the investors (Alshogeathri, 2011). This in return has turned major investment funds and mutual funds out of the market due to volatility. This is the main reason why the Saudi stock market continues to be dominated by individual, and mostly retail, investors. In comparison to other developing markets, Saudi Arabia’s stock market is grown in tandem with those economies. In particular with the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), the Saudi market has enjoyed more liberalized trading environment after the restructuring of the bourse in 2005. Most legal restrictions that had been imposed on the bourse were lifted, paving the way for a more integrated market (Marashdeh & Shrestha, 2010). Though Saudi Arabia’s stock market con trols approximately 35%-40% of the total traded volumes in the GCC, its market continues to face challenges that require it to have a more integrated approach to its neighbors.Marashdeh and Shrestha (2010) argue that the liberalization of the economies in the GCC markets has contributed to the increasing number of foreign investors in the GCC stock markets. Saudi Arabia’s market has benefited from this new wave. The number of foreign corporate investors in the market is increasing, though still the market is largely dominated by retail traders... Marashdeh and Shrestha (2010) argue that the liberalization of the economies in the GCC markets has contributed to the increasing number of foreign investors in the GCC stock markets. Saudi Arabia’s market has benefited from this new wave. The number of foreign corporate investors in the market is increasing, though still the market is largely dominated by retail traders. The fact that the market is susceptible to huge collapses has kept foreign corporate investors away from the market. This is steadily changing with changes in the governance structure of the market and the investment environment. Seeking further market integration with other GCC economies strengthens the Saudi market. The major downside of the Saudi market is the restriction on investment avenues by foreign investors. Foreign investors can only participate in the market through mutual funds managed by Saudi banks (Marashdeh & Shrestha, 2010). In comparison with other markets in the GCC, a Saudi investment cei ling of 25% foreign investment is a barrier to growth of the market. Other researchers that have done much of work in the area of performance of the Saudi stock market, such as Fama (1991) and Al-Saleh and Al-Ajmi (2012), are in agreement that efficient allocation of ownership of the economy across various sectors is the prime objective of a capital market. This means that the Saudi economy, with all other external factors remaining constant, should grow at the rate of the stock market growth. This is not the case in Saudi Arabia as shown by the many stock market collapses while the economy was growing. In this paper the researcher will review the existing literature on the performance of the Saudi stock market,

Reducing Incidences of Child Obesity Research Proposal

Reducing Incidences of Child Obesity - Research Proposal Example The imbalance leads to such weight differences and redefines the way children will develop later in life. Genetic factors also form a huge part of the obesity trends. Many children are seen to be susceptible to obesity-conducive genes, which makes it easier to develop such weight problems if the parents do not offer a chance to capitalize on retaining a healthy lifestyle always. Â  The important thing is to generate new understanding of what obesity is all about. The case involving the utility of the resources available for the sake of intervening in the very early years as a way of preventing the obesity from taking shape and allowing the society to move from a rational way of dealing with the issue to an emotional one. Many of the parents fear that keeping their children from the junk they are used to may be a way of keeping them away from themselves (Rippe, 2013). This means that they do not offer them any guidance that could provide them with a chance of dealing with the issue when it is still in its early stages (Gorard, 2013). Evidence from difference sources highlights the impact that lifestyle choices could have in tracking obesity and allowing adults to lose weight and keep fit, as well as allow the children to choose better lifestyles. The purpose of introducing the changes from a tender age is the fact that they are easily receptive at this age ( Rippe, 2013). Preventing its occurrence is essential as a way of managing the weight issues amongst the children. Â  Obesity amongst children has in many developed countries reached epidemic levels. This means that so many children are falling into this trap when they are much younger than they should be. At least 25% of the children in the US alone are in the overweight category with 11% of these falling into the obese category (Ahima, 2013).

Fishers narrative paradigm Essay Example for Free

Fishers narrative paradigm Essay One could argue, for instance, that the narrative of Translators without Borders ultimately sustains and justifies an ethics of consumerism through the commoditization of human grief. By blurring the boundaries between commercial and humanitarian agendas, the narrative accommodates itself to the established cosmetic use of good causes by big business to improve its image and deflect attention from its less savory practices. Finally, the Translators Without Borders story feeds into hegemonic cultural narratives of social responsibility that are ultimately designed to make the donors feel good about themselves rather than directly address the needs of the recipients. This is evident in Lori Thicke s article, published in Multilingual Computing and Technology, where she explains the attraction of the humanitarian exercise as follows: Giving away translations for Ð ° worthy cause is Ð ° win-win scenario. Eurotexte feels good about it. The translators feel good about it, and they see Eurotexte as an agency that really cares which we do. And last but not least, our customers consider this to be Ð ° point of distinction. (2oo3:4) In the final analysis, as Hinchman and Hinchman point out, we extend or withhold allegiance to communities depending on our rational judgments concerning the narratives on which they are based (1997:238) Fishers narrative paradigm, as І have tried to demonstrate with the narrative of Translators Without Borders, offers us Ð ° framework not only for making rational judgments but also for assessing narratives in terms of fidelity and, thus, their ethical import. Gumperz (1982) demonstrated that speakers in Ð ° conversation are engaged in an ongoing and immediate process of assessing others intentions and producing responses based on the assessment of those intentions. He calls this situated or context-bound process of interpreting meaning conversational inference and the meanings themselves are flexible and evolve as conversations proceed (Gumperz 1977). To talk back and forth-to speak as well as listen-entails both sending and receiving multiple levels of meaning. In numerous examples, he illustrates how meanings are conveyed from multiple levels of language consisting of, but not limited to, lexical or phonological choice, syntactic patterns, use of formulaic expressions, code-switching, prosodic cues (intonation and stress), and paralinguistic (e. g. , pitch, register, rhythm, and volume). Meaning is not only determined by features of language, but also, as Gumperz demonstrates, by background expectations, prior knowledge or relationships, roles, cultural knowledge, and other social knowledge. According to Gumperz, interpreting meaning is Ð ° process of contextualization in which Ð ° listener associates certain kinds of cues within the language, called contextualization cues, with information content on the one hand and with background expectations, or social knowledge, on the other ( Gumperz 1978; 1982). Contextualization cues refer to any aspect of the surface form of utterances that, when attached to message content, function as Ð ° way of signaling how to understand what is said. These cues signal to listeners when speakers have made their points, which information is foreground and which is background, what the relationship is between comments, how what is said should be heard (whether anger or joking is meant), and many other kinds of information. Adopting Ð ° cross-cultural perspective, Gumperz developed Ð ° method for investigating the process of contextualization cues by examining situations where they fail to work. When speakers share similar cultural backgrounds, then contextualization cues are also shared and speakers rarely misunderstand. However, when cues are not shared, misunderstandings prevail. Schiffrin ( 1994) interprets his main contribution as emanating from his studies of the way people within Ð ° larger culture, who are members of smaller, distinct cultures, may share grammatical knowledge of Ð ° common language (such as English) but may also contextualize what is said differently than Ð ° member of the larger culture. In this way, messages are produced that are understood perhaps partially, but not completely, such that people take away different interpretations of what was said and done. The following is Ð ° well known example from Gumperz (1982: 3o) cited by Schiffrin (1994: 7): Following an informal graduate seminar at Ð ° major university, Ð ° black student approached the instructor, who was about to leave the room accompanied by several other black and white students, and said: Could І talk to you for Ð ° minute? І am gonna apply for Ð ° fellowship and І was wondering if І could get Ð ° recommendation? The instructor replied: oK. Come along to the office and tell me what you want to do. As the instructor and the rest of the group left the room, the black student said, turning his head ever so slightly to the other students: Ahma git me Ð ° gig! (Rough gloss: І am going to get myself some support. ) Before exploring how different interpretations were made by listeners, this example can serve to illustrate what interactional sociolinguistic data is and how its analysis proceeds. First, Ð ° sociolinguist analyzes actual utterances that have been written down immediately or recorded on tape by an investigator. Significant to sociolinguistics is that these are not data generated from the analysts mind or experience but rather have been actually uttered by Ð ° human being in Ð ° natural context. Second, examples from data are always accompanied by Ð ° brief explanation of the contextthe physical setting, social roles, relationships of other participants, and other information. Any utterance can be the focus of analysis by asking, how was this utterance understood by the people who heard it, and how did these participants arrive at their interpretation? For the sociolinguist, this entails describing the grammatical knowledge of participants and the socio-cultural knowledge that listeners rely on to understand the messages conveyed. Specifically, such an analysis accounts for the way explicit linguistic signs, such as word choice, intonation, rhythm, stress, and lexical and phonetic choices indicate speaker intent and also how social knowledge influenced Ð ° listeners interpretation. When these cues are tacitly shared by speakers, interpretive processes tend to go un-remarked. However, when Ð ° listener does not react to Ð ° cue or is unaware of its function, interpretations vary, misunderstandings occur, and judgments are made.