Critically discuss the value of social representations theory to the Essay

Critically discuss the value of social representations theory to the social sciences in particulary to the science of history - Essay Example The use of social representation theory by social and political scientists is also studied to understand the limitations of such theories and I discuss how this could be used constructively in different social contexts and situations. Social representation is important in communication as communication helps people to interact and social representation provides the common ground of understanding of concepts or ideas. Ideas outside the common understanding or which don't have particular meaning may be difficult to grasp and social representations theory actually provide the meaning of concepts within particular social groups. It aids in understanding of concepts and thus facilitates communication. Social representation has been described as a system of values, ideas and practices that enables individuals to orient themselves in a material and social world and also enable communication among members of a particular community as social representation provides a code for social exchange and classifies various aspects of the world and individual group history (Moscovici, 1973). The meanings of words are concepts that have been established through social and the interpretations of meanings and ideas tend to depend on negotiation largely as related to the social environment. Although these meanings of concepts become fixed and definite, social representation is largely contextual and depends on a social background or environment. Thus certain concepts tend to have cultural connotations so some concepts understood by certain individuals of a community may not be clear to people of other communities. The development of social representations could be psychological and also social as along with provide social context to ideas, social representation theory helps individuals in terms of psychological growth. Howarth (2006) discusses Moscovici (1972) to answer what is the aim of social research and the social representation perspective and whether these theories support or criticize social order and how social theories consolidate or transform social order. The influence of social representation theory on social order or reality or the relation between social representation theory and social order is thus obvious in this discussion. Howarth provides an overview of social representations perspective and suggests that there may be certain underdeveloped issues within the social representation theory and its application that will need addressing. There are certain issues within the analysis of social representation theory for example that which deals with the relationship between psychological processes and social practices, legitimization of different knowledge systems, and resistance or change in construction of self identity (Howarth, 2006) that may not have been discussed in detail by so cial theorists. The role of representations in reality and idealization is also equally important in deconstruction or analysis of social theories. Thus social theories seem to be dependent on several factors related to representation and construction, knowledge systems and psychological aspects of identity. Several social theorists have given the wider applications of

International Corporate Reporting Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Corporate Reporting Issues - Essay Example The Objective of Financial Reporting The major elements of the financial statements are the Asset, Liabilities, Equity, Income and Expenses. The financial statements are prepared on the accrual basis of accounting and ‘going concern’ concept both being the fundamental principles for recognition, measurement and reporting. The objective of financial reporting could be achieved only if the decision-usefulness aspect maintaining the principle of stewardship is fulfilled in financial reporting. The information provided should be useful to the existing investors and the other stakeholders and relevant in decision making. Qualitative aspects should enhance the financial statements’ usefulness in predicting the future while confirming the fair and true view of the current status of the company and the statements are required to be understandable and comparable. A - Decision Usefulness Stewardship information is historical in nature and they are subjected to various types of analysis to assess the performance during a particular year for taking decisions. The comparison of the information over a period of time reveals the trends in the operations and the business. But, in most of the cases these could not be extrapolated to assess the future of the company as they are dependent on various internal and external environmental factors. The other statements and the reports like Chairman’s Report or Directors’ Report to the shareholders would be useful in assessing the future performance. Information regarding Stewardship objective The data available from the Income Statement and the Balance Sheets are useful for working out various financial ratios for the purpose of analysis with reference to various parameters such as efficiency in performance, profitability, leverage, interest cover or return on capital employed. For example we can work out operating margin from the Consolidated Income Statement as below: 2011 2010 2009 Sales 13,232 12, 958 12,283 Operating Profit 2,595 2,574 2,418 Operating Margin 19.61% 19.86% 19.68% The comparison for the past three years suggests that though there is increase in sales during 2011 by 2.11% in 2011 and 5.5% in 2010 over the previous years it is not reflecting in gross margin. This is mainly because there has been slowdown in the economy during this period and there has been increase in excise duties, marketing and other operating expenses. Similarly, we work out the current ratio from the balance sheet. 2011 2010 Current Assets 7161 6952 Current Liabilities 4915 3944 Ratio 1.46 1.76 Though the current ratio is better than the generally accepted level of 1, the ratio has come down during 2011. This is mainly because of the increase in overdraft from 587 in 2010 to 1447 in 2011. Stewardship oriented cash flow statement would indicate the movement of cash in the operations of the business. The details given in the Annual Report serves the decision useful objective in the areas such as efficiency in working capital management or plough back of profits accrued for long term capital investments. Elliott and Elliott (p. 16) state â€Å"Cash flow accounting provides objective, consistent and prudent financial information about businesses transactions. It is