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Define Risk And The Risk Management Process

Define Risk And The Risk Management Process

Risks refer to the uncertain events which cannot be controlled in organization despite the proper planning. However, risk management is a process of recognizing as well as, managing the internal events and external threats which are likely to have an impact on the success of a project. Today, risk management is applied to all levels of an organization in both operational and strategic contexts (Larson & Gray, 2003). Risk management process includes; risk identification, risk assessment, risk response development and risk response control. In risk identification, lists of possible risks are generated through risk profiling, brainstorming along with problem identification. In risk assessment, the vulnerability of the risks are analyzed and measured (MacCrimmon Wehrung, & Stanbury, 2006). In risk response development, the risks manager identifies all the activities which aim in reducing the likelihood of the risks from happening. These include; risk mitigation, risk avoidance, risk transfer and risk retaining. However, in risk response control, the risks managers establish a change management system and risk control such as initiating contingency plans while monitoring, tracking and reporting risk (Lientz & Larssen, 2006).

Explain the relationship between risk and cost during the project life cycle (5 Points)

The relationship between risk and cost during a project life cycle is that, on the basis of uncertainty, risk management cost under certainty while risk loss cost under uncertainty. During project development, the project developer has to balance cost and risk by understanding their relationships as well as, developing a learning organization from cost and risks lessons. During the project development, the cost and risk are very high. For instance, the cost used to develop the project may be higher just like risks that the project may not be the best, hence can be rejected by the client (Larson & Gray, 2003).

Explain the project change control process. (10 Points)

The purpose of the project change control process is to ensure that an action on the proposed changes occurs on purpose, but without unnecessary delay as well as, interfering with the project process (Lientz & Larssen, 2006). The project change control is significant because it allows the project team to identify, evaluate, approve as well as, document the proposed changes to the project baseline. First, the process is initiated a change request. The change request is a formal mechanism used to propose and assess a deviation to the project being developed. After the change request is evaluated, there is approval that is granted at an appropriate level after which the change request becomes a change order for implementation (Larson & Gray, 2003).

Second process is where the change order is communicated to the affected parties along with cooperating them in the project baseline in that data integrity is preserved and budgets reconciled across the project documentation such as work Authorization Document (MacCrimmon Wehrung, & Stanbury, 2006). In change control process, the three phases such as request change, review phase and documentation phase are accomplished in request change phase, appropriate classification is determined, however, for the review phase, assessment of a proposed change request is accomplished while the approval is obtained from an appropriate authority level. Lastly, the approved changes are thus implemented and the integrated project baseline documents are revised in the document phase (Lientz & Larssen, 2006).

Silver Fiddle Construction Case

Potential risks associated with the project

Risks are events which its occurrence can cause positive or negative effects on the project’s objectives. However, risk management helps in identifying, assessing, responding, monitoring as well as, reporting of the risks. For the Silver Fiddle Construction Case, the risk management plan will define how risks associated with the Silver Fiddle Construction Company are monitored throughout the project lifecycle while providing practices for recording and prioritizing those risks (Larson & Gray, 2003). Conversely, there are various potential risks which can be associated with the project. For example, these risks may be;

Unfavorable weather conditions such as earthquakes, rain, snow and many others

The workers may decide to on strike during the projects development

The Czopek on the other hand may change their mind on a certain part of the house

If the project need more materials to be used than what was projected

The Silver Fiddle Construction (SFC) may fail to find enough subcontractors to help with all the 11 projects

If the house costs more than the actual cost of $500,000 to finish the project

If the Silver Fiddle Construction (SFC) receives faulty appliances such as kitchen appliances.

Risk assessment form to analyze identified risks

Risk Event Likelihood Impact Detection Difficulties When

Unfavorable weather 4 6 4 From when groundbreaking begins till completion

Workers strike 2 2 2 Throughout the whole project

Czopek’s change their mind on the part of the house

3 5 5 After the foundation has been poured and frame built

Need more materials than what is projected 3 4 2 Early stages of development

Receive faulty appliances 2 4 2 End of the project or when the appliances are installed

House costs more than the projected cost 3 3 2 Throughout the project’s completion

Less subcontractors – – – Prior to beginning the project

Developing a risk response matrix similar to outline how to deal with each of the risks

Risk event Response Contingency planning Trigger Who is responsible

Unfavorable weather Retain Working around until the issue of weather clears up When unfavorable weather is predicted for the future No one

Workers strike Avoid Avoid all cost and if it continues to happen seek for other subcontractor Workers start to complain Kimberly and Ronald

Czopek’s change their mind on the part of the house

Avoid Avoid through communication if this will make them to feel happy The Czopek’s may start to ask for additional work to be added to part of the house Kimberly, Ronald, subcontracted companies

Need more materials than what is projected Avoid Avoid by ordering more projects Materials start to be scarce The subcontracted Companies

Receive faulty appliances Avoid Go for a reputable supplier Appliances malfunction General contractor

House costs more than the projected cost Avoid Get insurance in the beginning Start to exceed the budget General contractor and book keeper

Less subcontractors Mitigate Outsource reliable company Project is a month away from beginning General contractor

References

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” Larson, E., & Gray, C. (2003). Project management. The Managerial process. Retrieved December 27, 2013, from http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/fayad/current.courses/cmpe203-fall2013/docs/Articles/Project%20Management%205th%20Edition.pdf

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” Lientz, B. P., & Larssen, L. (2006). Risk management for IT projects: how to deal with over 150 issues and risks. London: Elsevier/Butterworth-Heinemann.

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” MacCrimmon, K. R., Wehrung, D. A., & Stanbury, W. T. (2006). Taking risks: the management of uncertainty. New York: Free Press ;.

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” Saporita, R. (2006). Managing risks in design & construction projects. New York: ASME Press.

Define organisational behaviour and discuss its relevance to management.

Introduction

Organizational behaviour relates to individuals or group of persons working together. In an organizational context, organizational behaviour refers to a study that is concerned with management, design, and effectiveness as well as with the interactive and dynamic relationships that exist within an organization. The concept of organizational behaviour has roots from the human relations school of thought that was based on Hawthorne Studies in 1920s (Martin, 2005, p. 4). Originally, the study of behaviour focused largely on the complexity of human behaviour in organizational setting. This led to recognition of the significance of social context in organizational working environment and the way groups behaviours within organizations become influenced by behaviours of individuals. However, more recent studies influenced by the earlier perception have demonstrated that organizational behaviour incorporates many more features in relation to human behaviour in an organizational context. Currently, organizational behaviour involves integration of studies from various academic disciplines such as sociology, psychology, economics, anthropology, political science and social psychology, (Staw 2010, p. 181). Thus, it is a comprehensive field of study that helps organizational management to apply the knowledge and skills about behaviour to investigate, identify and to modify the behaviour of individuals and groups within the organization. This paper explores the meaning of the concept of ‘organizational behaviour’ and discusses its importance to organizational management.

Definition of organizational culture

The term ‘organizational behaviour’ has multiple of definitions advanced by different scholars. Before adopting one of the most appropriate definitions of the term in this context, it is essential to appreciate the meanings of the terms ‘organization’ and ‘behaviour.’ According to Saiyadain, (p. 13), the term organization refers to the process of coordination of activities of a given number of individuals with an aim of achieving a common objective through accountability, division of labour and hierarchy of authority. Thus, organizations are rational entities and have well defined objectives and well defined economic means to achieve those objectives. An organization is made up of a minimum of two persons and the objectives of the organization are equally shared, understood and subscribed by all individuals within the organization.

The term behaviour on the other hand denotes an action or a reaction by an individual or a group of people triggered by an internal or external stimulus, which could be visible or invisible. This means that an individual’s behaviour could originate from within self or could be initiated by another person or thing. Thus, ‘organizational behaviour’, according to Saiyadain’s, (2003, p. 14) refers to, “a field of study that seeks to comprehend, predict and control human behaviour in organized settings through a scientific study of individuals, group processes and organizational structure and design and applying for the purpose of applying such knowledge in improving organizational effectiveness.” This definition has three major elements. First, organizational behaviour involves in investigative research on behaviours of individuals and groups within organizations. Second, organizational behaviour explores the impact that an organizational structure has on human behaviour and third, it involves the application of the knowledge gained to enhance efficiency within organization. The three elements are interactive in nature and they are applied to various systems of an organization in order to assist the management in achieving some set goals. Thus, the field of organizational behaviour emphasizes on understanding the behaviour of organizations and uses this as the basis for predicting how people will behave in the future. Thus, knowledge about organizational behaviour is important as it helps in controlling behaviours that are not generally beneficial to an organization and to facilitate behaviour that enhances efficiency of an organization. However, for people to have faith in the creation of organizational knowledge, it has to be derived using scientific methods such as through questionnaires, surveys, interviews and simulations, (Nguyen & Mohamed, 2011, p. 206). Therefore, knowledge and skills about organizational behaviour assists in identification of action plans that can be used to reinforce positive behaviour and to avoid disruptive behaviour.

Relevance of organizational behaviour to management

Organizational behaviour is very important to any organization’s management, since it has both intended and unintended consequences. As Henry et al (2003, p. 5) points out, the consequence of behaviour plays a crucial role in reinforcing certain behaviours and hence, affects the possibility of occurrence of behaviour. It affects productivity and can trigger occurrence of positive or negative reactions from individuals in the organization. Thus, study of organizational behaviour helps the managers to gain essential knowledge and skills about various components related to behaviour that lead to an organizational success including people, job design, processes and organization’s external environment.

According to Hashim et al (2008, p. 144), the study of organizational behaviour enables the management to investigate the behaviour of people and groups that relate to the organization. Managers have an obligation to look at the indicators and effects of individual and groups’ behaviours in the organization. Usually these indicators have a root cause. Thus, organizational behaviour assists the management in evaluating the symptom and establishing the root cause of behaviour. If the behaviour is good and will lead to organizational efficiency, the management can establish the norms of behaviour. On the other hand, if the behaviour is not conducive in enabling the organization to achieve the intended goals, then, the management can apply alternative and suitable models to modify individual and groups behaviours towards the appropriate vale system for the organization. According to Jeon et al (2011, p. 251), this strategy has been the base of success of most Korean firms. Besides the management of workforce, knowledge about behaviour of other stake-holders that determine an organization’s success such as customers and suppliers help in shaping the organization to cope with their requirements. Organizational knowledge helps to make adequate considerations when dealing with these stakeholders. Thus, in combination with the various concepts in the field of organizational management, managers apply the knowledge about behaviour to identify and to modify the attitudes of individuals and groups and to promote skills that will enhance effectiveness.

Secondly, knowledge of organizational behaviour helps in enhancing an efficient organizational structure. Usually, informal organizations lack some specific structure but formal organizations have systems which are built based on the organization’s goals, (Jeon et al, 2011, p. 251). The structure of such organizations is hierarchical in nature with people at lower levels reporting to higher level managers. For such an organization to be effective, it must have suitable structure with reporting system well explained and with appropriate number of tier. The efficiency of the organization will be dependent on presence of efficient communication system, free flow of information, well defined authority and efficient discharge of responsibilities supported by the rules and regulations. Thus, knowledge and skills relating to organizational behaviour helps managers to keep open mind while exercising full control over the various systems and while dealing with the subordinates and hence, it helps in achievement of high level of job satisfaction and ensure planned productivity.

Organizational knowledge is also important in assisting managers in assignment of jobs and recruitment of workers. For instance, an organization will require a person who is not shy to work at a credit collection desk. The management will need to recruit a confident person in such a position and place shy individuals in other department which have less direct contact with clients and less stress. Such knowledge therefore, helps the management to organize various tasks so as to accomplish a particular job (Kumar & Sharma, 2001, p. 298). It ensures that the management makes adequate work delegation, application of various job techniques as well as adequate supervision. Dhar U. & Dhar, (2002, p. 9) noted that in Indian firms, knowledge about behaviour helps the management to enhance processes hat lead to interdependence among individuals within organizations. This is achieved through section of appropriate subordinates to take up specific tasks based on personal traits, mental build up, aptitude and attitude as well as to lead by example. This helps the management in developing and building an organizational culture that will build a common cultural bond among the employees.

Finally, skills and knowledge about organizational behaviour helps proper management of organization’s external environment. Cultural, social, regal and government regulations changes in the society affect an organizational performance through their influence on individual behaviour of the workers and on the overall organizational culture, (Gorelick, 2005, p. 385). It is of utmost important for the management to examine how an organization and especially the subordinates are going to cope up with changes, both planned and unplanned. Cordeiro-Nilsson & Hawamdeh (2011, p. 89) note that management of knowledge about external environment such as culture of the society has enhanced success of the largest section of firms in Singapore and Sweden. Therefore, Knowledge and skills about organizational behaviour helps the management in examining and predicting organizational behaviour which helps in making the best anagram and work in order to cope with changes that affect organizational culture.

Conclusion

Organizational knowledge plays a very crucial role in determining the success of an organization. This is a field of study that seeks to investigate the impact that the behaviour of individuals and groups as well as organizational structure shave in the context of an organization, for the purpose of using such knowledge in enhancing organizational effectiveness. Knowledge about behaviour helps the management to identify and to modify the attitudes of individuals and groups and to promote skills that will enhance effectiveness. Further it helps the management in designing and redesigning jobs based on personal attributes of the workers as well as recruitment of the right individuals for specific tasks. In addition, knowledge of behaviour assists managers to develop an organizational culture that enhances job satisfaction and supports high levels of productivity. Thus, organizational management should have adequate skills and knowledge about organizational behaviour in order to evolve appropriate strategies that will enhance organizational effectiveness.

References

Cordeiro-Nilsson, C. & Hawamdeh, S., (2011) “Leveraging socio-culturally situated tacit

knowledge”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 15 Iss: 1, pp.88 – 103

Dhar U. & Dhar, S., (2002), ‘Study of Organizational Behaviour’ viewed 16 November, 2011

from < http://www.newagepublishers.com/samplechapter/001395.pdf>

Gorelick, C., ‘VIEWPOINT Organizational learning vs the learning organization: a conversation

with a practitioner,’ The Learning Organization, Vol. 12 No. 4, 2005, pp. 383-388

Hashim, J., Wok, S. & Ghazali, R., (2008) “Organizational behavior associated with emotional

contagion among direct selling members”, Direct Marketing: An International Journal, Vol. 2 Iss: 3, pp.144 – 158

Jeon, S. Kim, Y. & Koh, J., (2011) “An integrative model for knowledge sharing in

communities-of-practice”, Journal of Knowledge Management, Vol. 15 Iss: 2, pp.251 – 269

Kumar, A. & Sharma, R., (2001), Personnel Management Theory And Practice, 3 Vols. Set,

Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, New Delhi

Martin, J., (2005), Organizational behaviour and management, Cengage Learning EMEA,

London

Nguyen, H. N. & Mohamed, S., (2011) “Leadership behaviors, organizational culture an

knowledge management practices: An empirical investigation”, Journal of Management Development, Vol. 30 Iss: 2, pp.206 – 221

Saiyadain, M. S., (2003), Organisational Behaviour, Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi

Staw, B. M., (2010), Research in Organizational Behavior: An Annual Series of Analytical

Essays and Critical Reviews, Elsevier, Amsterdam

Tosi, H. L. & Mero, N. P. (2003), The fundamentals of organizational behavior: what managers

need to know, Wiley-Blackwell, Berlin

Deficit Spending

Deficit Spending

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Date of Submission

Deficit Spending

Every government in the world needs some financial support in order to carry out its day-to-day activities. The money to help run any government is got from the revenue that the it collects from the public. The revenue can be accrued from taxes that the government has placed on various goods and services or fines imposed on people for various offences. At times, however the revenue collected by the government may not be enough to sustain its operations, thus, forcing the government to borrow money to assist in keeping the government running. The instance in which the government’s expenditure exceeds its revenue is referred to as deficit spending. This paper will look at the advantages, disadvantages, and the crowding out effect of deficit spending (Stähler, 2009).

Advantages of Deficit Spending

The advantages of deficit spending by the government can be seen clearly in two main aspects: during a recession and on investment. When there is an economic downturn, the government might result to borrowing. In that aspect, recession is important in increasing the AD. Deficit spending can also help increase investment. When under provision is experienced in the education or public sector, the government might increase spending in the affected sectors. In so doing, the sectors may experience increased productivity in the future, which might result to higher rate of economic growth (Stähler, 2009).

Disadvantages of Deficit Spending

Deficit spending has various effects some of which include rising costs, investment opportunities, and organizations’ emergencies. We will look at the negative effects of deficit spending in each aspect mentioned above. Although there are some positive effects of deficit spending, the disadvantages are immense some of which are felt long after the deficit spending is over and the debt has been repaid by the government (Stähler, 2009).

Rising Cost

Deficit spending causes a rise in the cost of products available for consumers, whether to an individual or an organization. This is because the government will have to buy almost everything on credit, which means it will have debts. Debts also attract interest that means that all commodities the government purchases will have inflated prices because of the interests charged (Stevens, 2012).

Organizations

At the level of organizations, the effect of deficit spending is clearer. Deficit spending in any organization might make it less appealing to lenders, thus, making such an organization unable to get any financial assistance. Deficit spending can also distort financial ratios such as debt to assets and times interest to earned ratios. Such a situation might make outsiders wary of investing in the organizations bonds. Some of the organizations may as a result close down altogether (Stevens, 2012).

Crowding-out Effect

Crowding out effect is the instance where the interest rates of borrowing rises to an extent those corporations cannot be able to afford. When there is a deficit in the spending ability of the government, it usually turns to financial institutions for financial help. When this happens, most financial institutions increase their lending rates to an extent that it becomes too costly for the corporations to afford, thus, limiting their access to financial help (Stevens, 2012).

Conclusion

Deficit spending is often done when a country experiences instances such as economic recess. Economic recess is only a short time experience, thus, when the government results to deficit spending some negative effects are felt which most of the time do not help in economic growth but in fact hinders economic growth. Deficit spending results in employees layoff as most organizations cannot be able to gain access to any financial help that is crucial to their daily operations.

Reference

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” Stähler, N. (2009). Taxing Deficits To Restrain Government Spending. Journal of Public Economic Theory, 11(1), 159-176.

HYPERLINK “http://www.bibme.org/” o “Edit this item” Stevens, R. E. (2012). Market Opportunity Analysis Text and Cases.. London: Taylor and Francis.

Deferred prosecution agreement

Name:

Instructor:

Course:

Date:

Deferred prosecution agreement

Deferred prosecution agreement, this is a process whereby the prosecution pursues another means of making a cooperation pay for its mistakes through other available means as opposed to traditional litigation in courts. Deferred prosecution agreement can be seen in the case of fraud in corporate; a deferred prosecution agreement may be applied where the firm will have to implement reforms, carry out thorough investigations and finally payment of fines. Once the corporations are through with the set terms then the charges will be dropped and if the same is not done, the prosecution will resort to the normal process of litigation.

This process has positive results to the government and the corporation. The firm is given a chance to redeem its name and reputation while the government gets revenue from the fines the corporation is paying and from the continued successful business of the firm. There are several advantages since with deferred prosecution agreement the corporation stands a chance to survive by avoiding bad press that comes with trials hindering business. Another advantage is that the company will stay afloat and continue with business for they will avoid indictment that will lead to loss of business and employment for the workers. Although it is advantageous to the firm, there are also disadvantages to the company. The company pays up fines in millions of dollars; the payment of fines has a negative impact on the company’s finances.

The companies involved in misconduct should be made liable and pay for their mistakes if that is not done, the mistakes will end up costing the consumers of that company’s services or goods. With that said, the government is not exploiting such companies. All companies are liable for the actions of its employees in that capacity; hence, it is right for the government to punish a corporation for actions of its staff. The company has a duty to ensure its empolyees work within a set framework and regulations. Corporate criminal prosecution is necessary because the companies have to pay for their mistakes that have a negative impact on the consumers. If prosecution is not done, the consumers will face the negative impacts that result from such mistakes.

Defenses of the career on damage to cargo-Montreal Convention

Defenses of the career on damage to cargo-Montreal Convention

Q. 1 what defences is available to a carrier in relation to damage to goods?

Montreal Convention, also known as Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air is a treaty which establishes or unifies rules relating to international carriage of passengers, cargo or baggage by air. Article 18 (1) of this convention stipulates that the career is liable for the loss of or damage to goods that may during the transit by air (The Institute of International Commercial Law, 2010). However, Article 18 (2) provides defenses to the career in certain cases. This section exonerates the career from this liability in the event that the loss or damage occurs as a result of inherent defect, quality or vice of the goods. Secondly, the article stipulates that the career will not be liable if the loss or damage results from defective packing of the goods performed by other individuals other than the career or its agents or servants. In addition, the career will not be liable under the Montreal Convention if loss or damage on cargo resulted from an act of war or an armed conflict.

Q2: What if the goods are damaged as a result of a customs examination – is the carrier liable? If not, why not?

The career will not be liable in the event that damage to goods occur as a result of customs examination. Article 18 (2) (b) of the convention stipulates that the career will not be liable in case destruction, loss or damage to cargo occurs as a result of an act of a public authority during the exit or entry of the cargo (The Institute of International Commercial Law, 2010).

References

The Institute of International Commercial Law, (2010), Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air – Montreal, 28 May 1999, Pace University, White Plains, New York

Defense of Abortion

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University

Course

Tutor

Date

Defense of Abortion

Human being a noble race, anything that is done in ill willed spirits elicits some heated debate. So many schools of thought have come up to with many definitions regarding abortion.some say is the act of detachment from non bodily components, some say is the unwilled termination of unwanted pregnancies. Nevertheless, this is the process by which the fetus is prematurely removed from the mothers womb intentionally or unknowingly(Lunneborg) To some extent in the normal it refers to pregnancy loss irregadless of the causation factors. Warren, for instance argues that for a person to have qualities of animacy and to be precisely humanity, and the right to exist, he must assume the position of feeling pain and pleasure to some extent, also he must show emotions, that come with different feelings of sadness and happiness ,in addition, he should be able to reason tackling the challenges positively which he’s faced with are faced with. Above all he should be able to pass on information effectively via relaying messages correctly to the intended parties around him. In Warren’s statement, fetuses have none of these factors, and the result therefore is that fetus claim on life. This is supposedly true, since the termination of the fetus due to be born not inflict any suffering upon them, because their emotions and feelings are not yet shaped up (Potts). In her argument, Jarvis seems to be inclined to the situation that leads one into pregnancy than the fetus itself. Especially when she uses the analogy that, rape and kidney operation gives the woman unpleasant right to maintain pregnancy, hence this leaves here with the option to terminate it.

Critics of Jarvis

According to Marquis, nobody has the right to risk his own life at the pretext of another. Using the example of violinist, whereby she supposedly gives an analogy in which one discovers that the life of violinist has been lodged into his, the risk rest with the disconnection from the violinist, and if so it happens then he would be embattled with death of the violinist . The rationale behind this is that since he is under no responsibility to ensure the survival of the violinist he can choose to detach himself.

Some opponents argued that there are other ways one might have acquired a right to the use of someone’s body than by having been allowed to use it by that person. For example if a woman voluntarily engages in intercourse, knowing of the probability it will result in pregnancy, and then, she does contract pregnant; the question critics ask, “is she not in part accountable for the presence, and the very existence, of the unborn child?”. No doubt she did not solicit for it. But her partial responsibility for its occurrence gives it a right to make use of her body.Furthermore, some critics relates this episode of wanting to a abort with the act of boys stealing the chocolates, and in smidgen like one unplugging from the violinist. They argue that doing so would be depriving the fetus of what it does have a right to, and thus an injustice to it.

How critics defend the stand on abortion

On the other hand, critics of abortion flexes the muscles, They maintain that the unborn person has a right to its mother’s body to the limits that if her pregnancy resulted from a self willed act, undertaken in full knowledge and complacency of the chance a pregnancy might occur from it. It would exclude entirely the unborn child whose existence is as the result of rape. Pending the propping of some further views, then, they feel left with the conclusion that unborn people whose existence is due to rape have no right to make use of their mothers’ bodies, hence aborting them doesn’t deny them anything they can access rightly, and hence they conclude it as not unjust killing.

Again, some supposes that if pregnancy only lasted for an hour, and posed no threat to life or health. While some supposes that if a woman became pregnant due to rape. Admittedly she did not choose by herself to do anything that brings about the existence of a child. Undoubtedly she did nothing whatsoever which would give the unborn child reason of her body. All the same, they say, as in the newly hutched violinist story that she ought to permit it for that hour because that would be indecent of her to refuse.

Successes of these criticisms

Even though there has been much orchestrated voices on abortion this seems to have taken the ancient proverbial muse of dodo and the great auk. According to Warren stand, is that the voices and debates put on abortion have realized less, even to an abhorable length different states have made it illegal. This implies that the positivities realized and gained from this situation do not measure up. On a calculated scale, their is a rise in death of young girls who tempt the act of abortion. The main cause still is not new but the rationale that they are all the time being kept on a hide and seek game leading to inability and fear in accessing the hospitals for hygienic and proper medicatin.This leads them to dingy places where they feel un revealed to practice the act. Moreover in this underground places their safety is never guaranteed hence even succumb to death due to crude and un sterilized tools used in carrying out abortion (Stotland). Such matters can be tamed by governments through the making of laws that govern matters of abortion. In warrens view, it probable and possible for the maters concerning abortion to well addressed in hospitals, hence proper treatment for girls.

Comments

Therefore, the matters concerning pregnancy and birth are better and will be better addressed by women and not backstreet preaching on abortion hence good laws give women the chance for making informed decisions.

Works Cited

Lunneborg, Parma W. Abortion: a positive approach towards ones decision. New York : Thrift publishers, 2009.

Potts, MacDonald Abortion as a good practice . London:Antoinne and sons inc, 2008.

Stotland, Nadham L. Tuth and feelings on abortion. . New York : Hader publishers, 2007.

Defendants Rights, The bill of rights

Defendant’s Rights, The bill of rights

Name

Institution

Abstract

The bill of rights is meant to safeguard the rights of all Americans against violation by the very government meant to uphold the law. These rights and privileges also apply to citizens accused or convicted of crimes. Specifically, the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments provide safeguards and protections and privileges for defendants as well as convicts. These provisions have over time influenced the criminal justice system in different ways. A good example, is the Fifth Amendment right to be free from self incrimination, as well as to be subjected to the due process of the law, which has even led to the rise of aspects such as the Miranda warning; currently an integral part of law enforcement. The implementation of these four amendments has greatly affected, not just law enforcement, but also the courts and the correctional facilities.

Defendant’s Rights

The bills of rights normally acts as the main source of citizen’s rights, and are captured in the constitution, as the first ten amendments. These amendments usually safeguard the American people from being taken advantage of by their government. Specifically, four bills usually provide guidance and procedures that apply to citizens who have been accused of crime, are defendants in criminal cases, as well as inmates in prisons or jails. These bills include: the Fourth amendment, the Fifth Amendment, the Sixth amendment and the Eighth amendment. The Fourth amendment protects defendants from being subjected to unreasonable searches or the findings of such searches being seized. The Fifth Amendment not only provides the defendant with the privilege against self incrimination, but it also promises the “due process of law and ensures safe guards against double jeopardy (the government trying a defendant twice for the same offence). The Sixth Amendment outlines the basic conditions that must be met before criminal trials proceed; amongst them being the right of the defendant to counsel. Finally, the Eighth Amendment focuses on inmates and their welfare by forbidding the government from subjecting them to unusual and cruel punishments (Hall, 1960). These protections also include protections against state or local governments. Failures by government or state organs to follow these set procedures usually results in suppression of statements made by the defendant or evidence arising from such statements. As such, these four amendments have significantly influenced criminal justice over the years, governing not just law enforcement, but also profoundly determining the course of a number of criminal trials over the years.

In particular, the Miranda warning, based on both the Fifth and the Sixth Amendments and named based on the outcome of the famous Miranda versus Arizona trial (384 U.S), has taken centre stage in a number of trials, with the failure to follow the required procedures being responsible for the suppression of evidence on numerous occasions. The Fifth Amendment specifies that the defendant is privileged from self incrimination and must be subjected to due process, part of which overlap into the provisions of the Sixth amendment, on requirements that must be met before a trial can proceed. The Miranda warning forms part of the substantive due process which requires that police officers make defendants aware of their rights regarding statements they may make and their usability. Further, the warning must also include information regarding the defendant’s right to an attorney and an affirmative response indicating that they understand. The warning, therefore, offers a clear outline of the basis of interaction between law enforcement and the defendant. Overall, the warning requires that a defendant must intelligently, voluntarily and knowingly waive the rights provided within these amendments, especially the Fifth Amendment, in order for the government to be able to use statements the defendant makes, as evidence. Based on the precedent set by the Supreme court in whereby it ruled that a admitting a statement elicited from the suspect without having informed them of their Fifth Amendment rights, amounted to violation of the defendant’s Fifth Amendment right (Ernesto Arturo Miranda in this case). Furthermore, the court also found that it went against the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to consult counsel and to have counsel present before speaking to law enforcement officers (Fletcher, 2000).

Other subsequent prominent cases in which the question of Miranda rights and violations of the Fifth and Sixth amendments have taken centre stage include: United States v. Patane, in which even though physical evidence (a gun) obtained through an un-Mirandized statement was initially suppressed, it was subsequently allowed by the Court of Appeals. In a different case, Pennyslvania vs. Muniz, the court convicted the defendant even though the incriminating statements and evidence were obtained during a field sobriety test without the administration of the Miranda warning. The courts held that the un-Mirandized statements were actually unsolicited, making them admissible. In a totally different dimension to the case the courts found that the defendants confessions were inadmissible simply because the defendant had confessed under the belief that his attorney was present while that was not the case (Kanovitz, J. & Kanovitz M., 2008).

Personally, I do agree with how the right has been implemented so far, as it not only safeguards the rights of the defendant, but it also encourages professionalism and an adherence to the law. Although at times the loopholes provided by the need for and application of the Miranda warning are exploited by defendants, its existence ensures adherence to due process, which ensures that there is no miscarriage of justice (Williams, 1983). On the other hand, the Miranda warning is a simple manifestation of the different interpretations that can result from the same laws, as different circumstances call for different interpretations and application of the Fifth Amendment. For instance in the case of Miranda v. Arizona, the court upheld that his rights had been violated, while in the cases of Muniz and Patane, the courts failed to uphold such rulings. This indicates that despite the existence of such laws safeguarding the rights of defendants, when the due process is followed, justice often prevails (Gross, 2005).

References

Fletcher, G. (2000). Rethinking Criminal Law. Oxford University Press.

Gross, H. (2005, reissue). A Theory of Criminal Justice. Oxford University Press

Hall, J. (1960). General Principles of Criminal Law. Lexis Law Pub.

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)

Kanovitz, J. R. and Kanovitz, M. I. (2008). Constitutional Law (11th ed.). Matthew Bender andCompany, Inc. Newark, NJ. 694-697

Pennsylvania v. Muniz, 496 U.S. 582 (1990)

Williams, G. (1983). Textbook of Criminal Law. Stevens & Sons.

Deductive validity according to Lewis Carroll

Deductive validity according to Lewis Carroll

Question (a)

Deductive validity refers to the fact that the premises provided upon which conclusions are being made are strong and can only lead towards one conclusion, if the premises are taken to be true. In fact, the solidity of a deductive argument significantly depends on the validity of the premises, if the premises are not valid, most likely the conclusion made from the premise is not valid as well. Key to constructing a deductively valid argument is the ability to include universal syllogism, predicate instantiation, as well as an affirmation of the antecedent. Euclid’s argument does meet the three conditions described above. The assertion that what equal the same are equal serves to establish universal syllogism, the second premise leads to predicate instantiation, as it equates the two sides of as triangle to the “same”, before reaffirming the antecedent, which is done by restating the initial premise, and relating it to the fact that the two sides are both equal to the same, essentially making them equal. Euclid’s statement is therefore deductively valid as it meets the necessary conditions, with acceptance of the two premises as true the only requirement for the conclusion to be accepted. It would not be logical to accept the first two statements as true and reject the conclusion.

Question (b)

The tortoise is unwilling to accept the conclusion because it does not fully believe in the two premises provided by Euclid’s assertion. In fact, it is perhaps plausible to claim that the tortoise does not believe in the logical truth of Euclid’s premises, which essentially means that he does not operate within the logical constants that the two premises provide. This further means that the tortoise is therefore, in a position to create other possible conclusions that are not within the logical constants provided by the two premise statements. In essence, the tortoise is not operating within the boundaries of logic, as he admits that he is willing to accept the assertions and aspersions made by the two premises but not the conclusion. As as such, it is possible to argue that the tortoise is not willing to accept not just the conclusions provided by Euclid, but also the use of logical argument. By not being bound by a need to abide by logical thought, the tortoise is not likely to agree with the logical constants applied in the argument, as well as the logical consequences normally necessary for a conclusion to be made in cases of logical arguments.

Question (c)

Lewis Carroll attempts to highlight the futility of attempting to engage in a logical argument with an entity that does not believe in operating with the logical constants usually applied in logical argument. The manner with which the tortoise continually convinces Achilles to keep on writing new premises with each attempt to convince him is proof of the fact that the tortoise was not really willing to engage in logical argument, specifically to recognize the concept of logical consequences. Furthermore, at the initial stage when the tortoise tells Achilles at the beginning of their argument, that he shall need all the leaves of the notebook, which at the beginning is almost empty. This is clear proof that the mind of the tortoise is essentially made up, and there is nothing really that Achilles can do, to convince the tortoise of the fact that by accepting the two premises, he is already reaffirming belief in the logical argument put forth by Euclid. The fact that even after reaching 1001 attempts, the tortoise still sees them proceeding with no change in opinion, is perhaps the clearest display of a lack of faith and belief in the mantra of logical argument.

Question (d)

The story of Achilles and the Tortoise casts doubt on the rational acceptability of deductive logic, because the tortoise while accepting that the first two premises are true, proceeds to reject the conclusion arising from it is a clear indication that it does not believe in the concept of logical consequence. Secondly, the tortoise’s insistence on Achille’s writing whatever premise they arrive at is most likely to demonstrated to Achille’s the futility of his attempts at convincing him using logical argument or reasons. The argument essentially served to remind all of the most important part of any argument. First, there is a huge need to establish the ground rules of argument. Without this, putting up a convincing argument, particularly using logical reasoning, can be very difficult. In essence, one comes to the realization that providing a clear connection between the premises offered and the conclusion arrived at is very important. as without proper explanation, proving proof for logical arguments and reaffirmation of the claims can only be done by appealing to the individuals belief in the process that is logical argument. This in particular, is the greatest problem faced by Achilles, as he has no tangible evidence he could use to substantiate claims within the conclusion. At the same time, being able to convince an individual through a logical argument, requires that one is conversant with the deductive logical approach, which can same plenty of time.

Reference

Carroll, L. (1895) What the Tortoise said toAchilles.

Deductive Memo

Deductive Memo

Author’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Deductive Memo

To: Charles Duane Baker, Massachusetts Governor

From: Kinn Elliot, Legislative Strategist for the Vapor Technology Association (VTA)

Date: November 22, 2019.

Re: Lifting the Temporary Vaping Ban

Greetings

This memo is created to summarize the facts that guide the recommendations of Vapor Technology Association to the Massachusetts Governor’s office regarding lifting the four-month ban the Governor instituted on September 24, 2019, on responsibly manufactured vaping products. The fundamental conviction is that these recommendations are consistent with circumventing many legal battles surrounding the ban.

The Governor’s declaration of public health emergency towards combating the epidemic of vaping-related lung injuries and the subsequent Governor’s temporary ban on vaping in Massachusetts are hereby acknowledged with the utmost respect. However, following critical evaluation and in-depth reevaluation of the current situation, we at Vapor Technology Association feel that the ban could only be a partial win for the Governor as it will only prompt more needless legal battles. Our critical analysis culminated in the identification of several facts and factors that will only plague and exacerbate the political and legal atmosphere in Massachusetts.

The first and foremost fact is that the temporary ban is controversial and precarious because it is biased in the way in which nicotine-vaping products are categorized. While we acknowledge FDA’S warning against the use of tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products, we also observe that the agency strongly emphasizes that the vaping products that pose dangers to public health are the tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products purchased on the streets because they are irresponsibility manufactured and unregulated (Hernandez, 2019; O’Connor, 2012). So, when launching this crackdown, responsibly manufactured commercial vaping products that contain only nicotine and not tetrahydrocannabinol should have been exempted as they adhere to the standards provided regarding regulating the amount of nicotine. By failing to acknowledge the existence of responsible and standards-driven manufacturers of nicotine-flavored vaping products, this ban is simply an executive overreach that will drag the Governor into more legal battles without a doubt.

The second fact is that the ban will not be a long-term solution to the vaping crisis because it is flawed. One of its flaws, identified by Judge Donald Wilkins, is the failure to address whether the public health emergency exists only for adult users of vaping products or for both adult and young users. Critically, the ban is based chiefly on the epidemic of lung injuries among young users of nicotine-vaping products (Garrison, 2019; Raymond, 2019). Indeed, this fault was the basis upon which Judge Wilkins recommended the resubmission of the order covering nicotine products as an emergency directive. Another flaw of this ban is that it does serve the interests of the public per se. This is because it will stimulate many ex-smokers of tobacco who had switched to e-cigarettes to return to heavy smoking of cigars, a fact that Siegel, a Boston University professor of community health sciences, confirms (Garrison, 2019). By creating circumstances that force ex-smokers to return to their smoking behaviors, this ban will trigger more public health concerns, thereby culminating in many potential lawsuits.

The third fact is that this ban is a dreadful recipe for legal battles because it will facilitate the creation of new black markets that sell unregulated and subpar vaping products in Massachusetts. We are wary that when responsibly manufactured flavored vaping products are completely swept out, nicotine users will not just quit. Siegel corroborates our concern by maintaining that the Governor’s ban will stimulate the formation of black markets that sell unregulated vaping products (Garrison, 2019). For this reason, some nicotine users and ex-smokers will turn to cigarette smoking while a significant majority will resort to seeking unregulated vaping-product black markets. They will do so to continue sourcing flavored e-cigars, which are a preference for many adults and youths as Satel (2019) submits. What this means is that the political move of banning responsibly manufactured vaping products will only brace the use of dubious and bootleg vaping products, leading to unprecedented legal problems. It is worth recalling that black markets do not only exacerbate the challenges of legal product regulation but also complicate policy-centered efforts to combat crises (Maloney & Hernandez, 2019).

Based on these three facts, it is evidence that the ban will more likely exacerbate the vaping crisis than mitigate it. Eventually, the exacerbation of the crisis will yield more lawsuits and legal battles than legitimate solutions. Therefore, our recommendation and appeal to the Massachusetts Governor are that he changes his mind and lift this ban towards avoiding such further legal battles. The Governor needs to know that the relative safety of e-cigarettes has been documented across other states in the United States. He also needs to appreciate the research-based confirmation that responsibly produced vaping products have played an irrefutable role in lessening the adult smoking rate to 14%, along with curtailing the youth smoking prevalence (Prochaska & Benowitz, 2019; Rhoades et al., 2019; Satel, 2019). While the ethos of banning vaping is the relative risk involved, research outcomes confirm the benefits of smoking harm reduction through vaping. So, the Governor is entreated to lift this ban and look for better alternatives to dealing with the epidemic of vaping-related lung injuries because targeting responsible producers of regulated vaping products will only stimulate needless legal battles.

Respectfully

Kinn Elliot.

References

O’Connor, R. J. (2012). Non-cigarette tobacco products: what have we learnt and where are we headed?. Tobacco control, 21(2), 181-190.

Prochaska, J. J., & Benowitz, N. L. (2019). Current advances in research in treatment and recovery: Nicotine addiction. Science advances, 5(10), eaay9763.

Rhoades, D. A., Comiford, A. L., Dvorak, J. D., Ding, K., Hopkins, M., Spicer, P., … & Doescher, M. P. (2019). Vaping patterns, nicotine dependence and reasons for vaping among American Indian dual users of cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. BMC public health, 19(1), 1211.

Hernandez, S. (October 04, 2019). The US Government Is Now Warning People Not To Use Any Vaping Products With THC. Buzz Feed News. Retrieved November 22, 2019, from https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/salvadorhernandez/no-vaping-thc-warning-fda.

Maloney, J., & Hernandez, D. (October 06, 2019). Vaping’s black market complicates efforts to combat crises. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved November 22, 2019, from https://www.wsj.com/articles/vapings-black-market-complicates-efforts-to-combat-crises-11570354204.

Raymond, N. (October 21, 2019). Massachusetts vaping sales ban can stand but needs fixes: Judge. Thompson Reuters. Retrieved November 22, 2019, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-vaping-massachusetts/massachusetts-vaping-sales-ban-can-stand-but-needs-fixes-judge-idUSKBN1X01SL.

Garrison, J. (October 21, 2019). Massachusetts vaping ban can stand for now, but state must fix flaws in a week, judge says. USA Today. Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. Retrieved November 22, 2019, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/10/21/judge-rules-massachusetts-vaping-ban-can-stand-if-issues-addressed/4051203002/.

Satel, S. (October 23, 2019). The vaping overreaction. The Atlantic. Retrieved November 22, 2019, from https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/10/danger-vaping-bans/600451/.

No representation of allocentric space has been found in the brain

No representation of allocentric space has been found in the brain

Critically evaluate this statement.

The question of how animals and humans navigate is a fundamental research problem upon which there has been much experimentation and debate, and so it is necessary to refine the title to a specific point. As Tolman (1948) established that rats can solve spatial problems too complex for a purely stimulus-response system to solve, and that therefore some kind of neural map is necessary for navigation, this essay will basically address the question of whether the brain forms an allocentric (which is independent of the organism) or an egocentric (based on the organism’s own perception of the surroundings) view of the environment. For the purpose of simplicity this essay will concern itself with only the brain of a rat.

This essay will thus discuss the evolution of relevant behaviourist and neurophysiological theories, the most important being O’Keefe (1991); Muller, Kubie, Bostock, Taube and Quirk (1991); and Rolls (1991).

The behaviourist theories proposed that a reward or aversive object/event will motivate a rat to move towards or away from the location along a reward gradient, and this has been shown to be the case with rats in a maze situation (O’Keefe, 1983). Indeed, this situation does not require the rat to have a concept of absolute space; it may depend on associations between cues and responses which are provided by the maze structure itself. However, O’Keefe & Nadel (1978) identified spatial behaviours which they argued would require the existence of an allocentric map: detection of changes within the environment; navigation to the goal from a different starting location; and perhaps most importantly detour behaviour, which required the adaptation of novel behaviour to find the goal after the usual route had been blocked in some way.

Further support was added by Collett et al (1986). They trained gerbils to find seeds located at a central point between two landmarks, and upon moving these landmarks further apart rather than searching at a point equidistant, which would suggest an egocentric view of the environment, they searched at the same distance from each of the landmarks. This would suggest that they had formed a map or reference framework of the environment that was based on cues from this environment. Wilkie & Palfrey (1987) and Zipser (1986) argued that this framework could still be animal-centred, in that it forms an egocentric matrix of the environment and then transforms this as it moves around in the environment, or as the environment itself changes.

Morris (1981) was able to show in that a hippocampal lesion affects a rat’s ability to learn to return to a safe position in a milk maze, it became clear that a neurophysiological approach to the question may be useful.

O’Keefe (1991) suggested that “place cells” in the pyramidal CA1 and CA3 regions, which fire when the rat is in a particular location in the environment, defies the behaviourist argument: the place coding fires at a constant rate (albeit in different locations in CA1 and CA3 regions) independent of the location of the goal, and this firing rate does not change when the goal itself is moved, which suggests that the mapping is not motivational. However, this place coding continues after landmark cues are removed, which suggests that they could be tuned to locations due to the rat’s egocentric concept of the environment, rather than an allocentric map influenced by the environment. Indeed Taube et al (1990) suggested that these place cells were in fact perceptual cells in the post-subiculum tuned to a “local view”: what the rat sees at a particular place where it must make a critical decision about which way to turn to reach a location, because the cell firing was also dependent on the direction the rat was looking in the environment. One limitation of this view is that this directional specificity was much less common in an open unstructured environment.

Muller et al (1991) challenged both the allocentric map and local view models. They found that as well as “place cells” there was apparent in the brain “region cells” which were active in broad and importantly functional regions of the environment. Not only did this suggest that the hippocampal map was distorted in some way, but it also challenges the local view theory in that there would be lots of different “views” from just one region’s firing. This seems to suggest, however, that the hippocampal map does indeed represent a more functional property related to behaviour; for example, a region defined as a wall would coincide with a reason to stop searching in that location for food.

Rolls (1991) examined the functional anatomy of the CA3 cells and suggests an auto-associative matrix memory system. The CA3 system is highly interconnected and there is a relatively high probability (about 3.9%) that a neurone will connect with a neighbouring cell, and the cells respond to a stimulus only from a certain location and then fire others which could then provide an overall map of the environment. This is useful as the a snapshot of a scene will allow retrieval all the relevant locations of objects within the environment, allowing completion in recall. This anatomy also allows Hebbian learning, that is, strongly activated cells will form stronger links with other cells. This means that as the rat learns about its environment different synaptic weights can be attached to different objects or locations.

Rolls (1991) used further anatomical details to suggest how this system could provide an allocentric or egocentric concept of the environment. He hypothesised that as place-coded neurones on the upper layers of the antorhinal cortex are the route of entry of information into the system the CA3 pyramidal cells could make possible calculations of vectors to the location of objects, this is a neurophysiological basis for how animals might represent and navigate in their egocentric environment using the hippocampal region of the brain. Rolls (1991) also suggested that as the subiculum region also receives inputs from brain regions associated with incentives e.g. the amygdala and anterior thalamus, this is a good candidate for the structure responsible for performing goal and aversive movement vectors. This gives credence to behavioural factors involved in map formation, and implies that as this behavioural is goal-oriented, it may also be egocentric.

Muller et al (1991) go on to conclude that there is a map in the hippocampus, but it is topological rather than metric. They suggest that there is at first a only a behavioural basis for the formation of a neural map, and then a spatial map arises only because rats learn that they do certain things in certain places; thus there are then both behavioural and spatial causes for map formation, and their use is dependent on the circumstance. This suggests that the map is at first egocentric, and then as rats have more time to experience their environment an allocentric map is formed with motivational aspects included.

Muller et al (1991) also suggest that the theory of place cells as an egocentric map is unreliable because of the issue of locomotion. They suggested that the firing of place cells would be in some way connected to the movement of the rat, yet the same place cells fire when the rat is moved around the environment by hand or in a special cylinder carrier. Furthermore, place cells will fire in the specific field, independently of how the rat reached this location. To me this strongly suggests that the place cells are triggered by environmental cues rather than by the movement vectors of the rat, because the rat can no longer be using an egocentric map to calculate movement vectors in order to find its way around, and it must be using an allocentric representation of the environment. However, it is still possible that, as Muller et al (1991) suggest, this allocentric representation was formed after goal-oriented behaviour had formed an egocentric map.

In answer to the main question it seems possible to conclude that there is some strong evidence for an allocentric representation of the environment in rats. Although the neurophysiological examination given by Rolls (1991) strongly suggests that there is a strong motivational aspect to the formation of a spatial map, which suggests that it is egocentric map, there can be a number of different interpretations. Muller et al’s (1991) conclusion that there is a behavioural and allocentric spatial map operating seems to be reasonable. Intuitively it makes sense that an organism’s first representation of its environment would be based on its motivations since they are most important to its survival, but it also seems reasonable that once this map has been formed a general spatial map would be formed, especially as the location of goals in the environment is likely to change, and so the organism must be adaptable to allow it to use its allocentric map to find the new location of the goal. This is backed by O’Keefe & Nadel’s (1978) finding of detour behaviour, and also by O’Keefe (1991) in that place cell firing is not related to distance to goal. It would be interesting to see if a study could show that there is indeed a change between a motivational map and a general spatial map, as a rat becomes more accustomed to its environment.

References

Collett, T.S., Cartwright, B.A. & Smith, B.A. (1986)Landmark learning and visuo-spatial memories in gerbils. Journal of Comparative Physiology, 158, 835-51.

Morris, R.C. (1981) Spatial localization does not depend on the presence of local cues. Learning and motivation, 12, 239-60.

Muller, R.U., Kubie, J.L., Bostock, E.M., Taube, J.S. and Quirk, G.J. (1991) Spatial firing correlates of neurones in the hippocampus of freely moving rats. In J.Paillard (Ed) Brain and Space: OUP.

O’Keefe, J. (1983) Spatial memory within and without the hippocampal system. In Neurobiology of the hippocampus (ed. W.Seifert), pp. 375-403. Academic Press, London.

O’Keefe, J. (1991) The hippocampus cognitive map and navigational strategies. In J.Paillard (Ed) Brain and Space: OUP.

O’Keefe, J. & Nadel, L. (1978) The hippocampus as a cognitive map. Clarendon, Oxford.

Rolls, E.T. (1991) Functions of the primate hippocampus in spatial processing and memories. In J.Paillard (Ed) Brain and Space: OUP.

Taube, J.S., Muller, R.U., Ranck, J.N.Jr. (1990) Head-direction cells recorded from the post-subiculum in freely moving rats. I. Description and quantitative analysis. Journal of Neuroscience, 10, 420-35.

Tolman, E.C. (1948) Cognitive maps in rats and men. Psychology Review, 40, 60-70.

Wilkie, D.M. & Palfrey, R. (1987) A computer simulation model of rats’ place navigation in the Morris water mave. Behavioural Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 19, 400-3.

Zipser, D. (1986) Biologically plausibly models of place recognition and goal location. Parallel distributed processing. Exploration in the microstructure of cognition. Vol. 2. Psychological and biological models (ed. J.L.McClelland, D.E.Rumelhart, and the PDP Research Group), pp.432-70. MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.