Saltaire a typical model village Essay Example

Saltaire a typical model village Essay Model villages began to appear around Britain in the late 1700s as a way for employers to provide for their workforce. One of the first examples was Cromford in Derbyshire. They were model in the sense the houses were laid out in a plan rather than springing up in any available space, which was the norm in towns at the time. They also kept to a set standard of housing which was advanced when compared to the industrial cities counterpart where houses were often split into several small rooms which were rented out to individual families, or even groups of people. Model villages on the other hand worked to prevent overcrowding from happening. These villages were built by companies or single businessmen for the benefit of the workers, and therefore themselves. As most villages were connected to the industry that was owned by these men.. The houses in these villages had affordable rent and were often far more sanitary and a lot less over crowded than in the cities (though to todays standards they may seem cramped and compacted at the time they were revolutionary). Saltaire and Bourneville are examples of these villages. Saltaire was built by Titus Salt, owner of many wool mills to house his many workers. He built a new large mill just outside Bradford to begin his new business venture with Alpaca wool and the adjacent town was to home his workforce. It was bordered by the River Aire and by rail lines as well as the Leeds-Liverpool canal (useful for importing the Alpaca wool). The rest of the area was surrounded by greenfield. The town originally had 820 homes built to accommodate 4.389à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and provided the workers with a hospital, almshouses (retirement homes) complete with pension, park areas and also schools where children could study either part time, if working in the mill or on a more day to day basis. It also provided the inhabitants with churches and communal washrooms. We will write a custom essay sample on Saltaire a typical model village specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Saltaire a typical model village specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Saltaire a typical model village specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer All homes also had a flushing outdoor toilet attached to a proper drainage system and fresh water was pumped in from the clean canal waters which were well away from the pollution of the cities. Most of the homes also had some kind of yard or garden area. There were also varying types of accommodation built to reflect status. Skilled workers and foremen had larger homes with larger garden areas than unskilled workers, and single male and female workers were housed in dormitory style buildings of same sex only. Titus Salt also created The Institute which was basically a large recreational centre for his workers. It included a laboratory, library, concert hall, lecture theatre and gymnasium. A small shopping parade was also built to cater for his employees needs. Saltaire is a typical model village because of its grid-iron pattern. The majority of the houses were built in long terraced blocks ranging in size and height to give The way in which the dwellings were arranged to maintain the welfare of the workforce, which was something that Titus Salt had always had great interest in, and yet also to give the workers a feeling of security and a better quality of life. Salts interest also lay in the fact that a healthy workforce and one that had little way to travel to work would also be more productive. He kept his workers in a good state of health with the aid of the grid-iron pattern which spaced houses out enough to prevent overcrowding and to give people their own dwellings whilst also providing them with sanitation and clean water which were almost unheard of in the city itself. The pattern of housing also managed to give people social status with the larger homes with more gardens being closer to the mill. Titus Salt carefully managed rent to make sure that the employees could easily afford it on their wages. Another way in which he improved the lives of his workers was by the way that he created far better working conditions. This was one of the main principals behind the creation of model villages in the first case. Saltaire was built with the workforce in mind and Titus Salt tried to provide for them in everyway possible. He intended to also build a market, hotel and abattoir. Another way in which Titus Salt shows that he looked after his workers is the mess hall where workers could go and have lunch provided for them. This was based just opposite the mill, however there was a direct passage to the hall covered to keep workers dry, and maybe also perhaps to stop people from delaying. Saltaire is thought to be one of the greatest remaining examples of a model village as it has been relatively unchanged over the years. Its recent elevation to World Heritage Site is making sure that renovations are being completed and that it does not lose anymore of its originality. Although some areas no longer maintain their original purposes, for example the hospital which has now been turned into flats the basic idea behind Saltaire can still easily be seen when visited. Saltaire is now no longer home to mill operators as the mill ceased to function some years ago and now is a gallery displaying David Hockneys work and the home of the Bradford Health Authority.

The Effect of Baroque Music Essays

The Effect of Baroque Music Essays The Effect of Baroque Music Paper The Effect of Baroque Music Paper The Effect of Baroque Music on the Performance of Elementary Students on Problem Solving Task A Research Proposal Submitted to the Faculty College of Liberal Arts Western Mindanao State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements in Psychological Research I Submitted by: Lilibeth Grifon Christie Annie M. Jalaron Audraiza Macaraya Arlynn Mae Tangon Chapter I Introduction Students’ lives today are filled with large variety of experiences by which they develop either positive or negative attitudes toward certain experiences. Eventually, these attitudes develop into a guide to their behavior. It has been noticed that most school learners are now musically inclined and the need to have a better teaching strategy to facilitate students’ learning abilities is the prime reason why researchers want to pursue this study. This study focuses on the application of background music in the classroom setting to find out if providing music in the environment can have a significant difference in learners’ performance. The influence of music on rates of learning has been the subject of study for many years. Research has confirmed that loud, background noise hinders learning concentration, and information acquisition. Background music is used to provide a welcoming atmosphere and help prepare and motivate students for learning tasks. It can energize lagging attention levels or soothe and calm when necessary. Music in the classroom may have different effects, depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the pupils in the classroom. It may also depend on the existing level of noise at the school and surrounding area. Various researchers reported that kids seem to be vulnerable to excessive noise. For children who are sensitive, environmental noise can be a source of stress. That’s why for the past years, researchers experimented many ways of producing the healthiest sound possible. Several researchers have proven that classical and baroque music with some nature sounds are the most appropriate background music. Some amount of background music may be helpful in the learning process. Original studies in the used of music in learning show that Baroque music was optimal for learning. Another study showed that Baroque music accelerates learning, and enhance both short-term and long-term memory. Baroque music, with its unique rhythmic structure and stability, is particularly conducive to memory, productivity and healthy, stress-free environments (Lawrence, 2001). Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. The original meaning of baroque is irregular pearl. Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed, and listened to. Baroque composers include J. S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Handel, Chopin, Pachelbel and Alboni. Background of the Study Mathematics is a subject where most learners have low achievement. Different reasons are presented on why learners have difficulty in dealing with math subjects. It even came to the point wherein learners cut classes during math subjects. Some respondents stated why they have low interest in math is because they get bored with numbers and teacher’s chalk-board strategy is even reinforcing their boredom. Problem solving is a process of thinking that is directed toward the solution of a specific problem. The process involves the use of problem solving skills. Yet the most difficult to teach in Mathematics is problem solving. Even high school students could hardly solve two-step problems. This is due to poor analysis and understanding of word problems. Proficiency in remediating the problem experienced by the students in this area is an essential skill of a competent educator (Miranda, 2004) One reason of boredom is the lack of interest but more so with the lack of environmental stimulation. Enriched environment is one of the most important factors that educators should look into for the reason that learners are widely curious with different stimuli that will encourage them to do their best in every endeavor. Several researches show that instrumental music can enrich environment and can cause stimulation to learners which is present in the change of their physiological processes. Review of Related Literature This section will discuss the study of the effect of background music in learning. It also includes literature and studies on the effect of music in learning performance. This section will provide scientific evidence that support the claim that music is related to the improvement of mathematical performance. (Tria, Limpingco, Jao, -) concrete operational stage is a period of concrete operational logical thought in number, class and orders (7-11 years old). The child becomes increasingly capable of demonstrating logical thinking in relation to physical objects. A newly acquired capacity of reversibility allow him or her to mentally reverse action that was previously only than physically. The child is now able to mentally hold two or more variables at a time when studying objects and to reconcile apparently contradictory data. He or she becomes more sociocentric, increasingly aware of the views of others. These new mental capacities are demonstrated by a rapid growth in the ability to conserve certain properties and to do relational thinking such as classifying and ordering objects. Mathematical operations are also developed. The child becomes increasingly able to think of physically absent things based on the vivid images of past experiences. The child’s thinking, however, is restricted to concrete thing rather than ideas. (Hurlock, 1982) stated in her book that educators call late childhood the elementary school age. It is the time when the child is expected to acquire the rudiments of knowledge that are considered essential for successful adjustment to adult life. It is also the time when the child is expected to learn certain essential skills, both curricular and extracurricular. Educators also regard late childhood as a critical period in the achievement drive –a time when children form the habit of being achievers, underachievers or overachievers. Once formed, habits of working below, above, or up to one’s capacity tend to persist into adulthood. It has been reported that the level of achievement behavior in childhood is highly corrected with achievement behavior in adulthood. As their world expands with their entrance into school, so do children’s interest. And with this broadening of interest comes an understanding of people and things which formerly had little or no meaning. Children now enter Piaget has called the â€Å"Stage of concrete operations† in thinking, a time when the vague and nebulous concepts of early childhood become specific and concrete. With rapid growth comes a sapping energy. This leads to a disciplination to work and to attitudes of boredom toward any activities that require effort on the individual’s part. While underachievement after begins around the fourth or fifth grade in school, when early enchantment with school gives way to disenchantment, it generally reaches its peak during puberty. Barr and Seashore (as cited in Kong, 2005) says that it is easy to see how active listening can be applied to the steps for teaching toward conceptual change. Once a student has internalized the skills for active listening, they are primed for engaging in an active learning process. The exhibition of this capability is limited by the child’s ability to understand or apply himself to the task. It stressed that researchers and educators have further identified active listening and its component skills as being transferred across disciplines. The ability to listen effectively affects students’ chievement in school, and contributes to the success in life. Music among the multiple intelligences was found invaluable to develop student’s abilities in listening. Insofar as the power of reflective thinking is concern, musical intelligences are like philosophical, mathematical or scientific intelligence. Hodges (2000) outlines the five basic premises that have been derived from neuromusical research. These premises establish a link between the human brain, the ability to learn and the capacity for resilient health. This research supports the long held supposition that music is beneficial to human beings. He states: (1) human brain has the ability to respond to and participate in music; (2) musical brain operates to respond at birth throughout life; (3)early and ongoing musical training affects the organization of the musical brain; (4) musical brain consists of extensive neural systems involving widely distributed, but locally specialized regions of the brain: cognitive components, affective components, and motor components. O’donell (1999) stated that Music from the baroque period causes the heart beat and pulse rate to relax to the beat of music. It affects the amplitude and frequency of brain waves, which can be measured by an electro-encephalogram. Music also affects breathing rate and electrical resistance of the skin. It activates the left and right brain, thus, maximizes learning and retention of information. The information being studied activates the left brain while the music activates the right brain. In addition, he also find out that listening to baroque music before taking a test releases neurons in the brain which will help the body to relax. Its effectiveness can be seen by the results from an IQ test performed on two groups of college students. The first group listened to Mozart music before taking the test. The second group did not listen to music before taking the test. The first group had an average of 119 while the second group had an average of 110 only. In addition, he stated that the key component of music that makes it beneficial is the order. The order of the music from the baroque and classical periods causes the brain to respond in special ways. This order includes repetition and changes, certain patterns of rhythm, and pitch and mood contrasts. The brain works by looking at the different pieces of information and deciding if they are different or the same. This is done in baroque and classical periods by playing a theme and then repeating and changing the theme. The repetition is only done once. More than one repetition causes the music to be come displeasing, and also causes the person to either enter a state of sub-conscious thinking or a state of anger. Accordingly, the human mind shuts down after three or four repetition of rhythm, or a melody, or a harmonic progression. Zatorre (as cited in O’donell, 1999) children pay close attention to subtle variations in tone and timing, which enables them to learn language accent perfectly. Likewise, musical people have increased aptitude in foreign language learning due to an advanced ability in perceiving, processing, and closely reproducing accent. When the brain processes music, this function extends over both hemispheric regions. The primary actuator in this connection is the acoustic cranial nerve which acts as a switching station for cranial nerves. In other words, the acoustic nerve channels not only sound from the ear, but also conduct other sensory inputs together, so our experience of the environment necessarily becomes a synthesis. Shaw and Bodner (as cited in Kliewer, 2003) included in their study the used of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to map the regions of a subject’s brain that respond when listening to Mozart and Beethoven, and they found out that all types of music activates the auditory cortex, where the brain process sound, and sometimes trigger parts of the brain that are associated with emotion. But with Mozart and Beethoven’s music, the whole cortex is lighting up. Also, it activates areas of the brain involved in fine motor coordination, vision and other higher thought processes, all of which might be expected to come into play for spatial reasoning. Lawrence (2001) found that several studies used instrumental soothing music tends to help accelerate learning. Examples include the composition of Mozart, Vivaldi, Bach and Handel. These instrumental pieces are called concentration music or relaxation music. Baroque music, with its unique rhythmic structure and stability, is particular conducive to memory, productivity and healthy, stress-free environments. Studies for accelerated learning showed that Baroque music was optimal for learning. This music also provides health benefits such as lower muscle tension, lower blood pressure, and a slower pulse rate. Rauscher et al (1988) determined that listening to 10 minutes of Mozarts Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major briefly increased scores 48% (relative to control groups) on the paper-folding task, a component of the Stanford-Binet intelligence test that measures spatio-temporal reasoning abilities. Moreover, the effects were transient, lasting only about 10 minutes, and performance on non-spatial reasoning tasks was unaffected. Such results seem to be unique to the music of Mozart, whereas music not as highly structured did not have measurable effects. Other researchers have demonstrated that compositions of other classical composers such as J. S. Bach show similar benefits. Lozanov (1960) found that playing Baroque instrumental music (such as that of Handel and J. S. Bach) in the background while teaching foreign language vocabulary greatly increased students speed of learning and degree of memory retention. Music with a meter close to 60 beats per minute was found to be most effective; that this rate closely matches that of a relaxed pulse is thought to be significant. Merrill (1991) got 72 mice and divided them into three groups: the hard rock group, the Mozart group, and the control group who had no music at all. He placed the mice in aquariums, and then started playing music 10 hours a day. He put each mouse through a maze three times a week that originally had taken the mice an average of 10 minutes to complete. Over time, the 24 mice in the control group were able to cut about 5 minutes from their maze completion time. The Mozart mice cut their time back 8 1/2 minutes. The hard rock mice added 20 minutes to their time, a 300% increase in maze-running time from their original average. Unfortunately, the study did not go for long because all hard rock mice killed each other. Hardie (1990) studied the effect of music on mathematics anxiety and achievement. Two different environments were used while students took an Intermediate Algebra exam. One group took the exam in silence, while the other group listened to background music during the exam. There was a significant increase in anxiety for the students tested in silence. Ruvinshteyn and Parrino (as cited in Orel, 2007) says research over the past 40 years, Baroque music pulses between 50-60 beats per minute and has been shown to enhance learning of foreign languages and to improve performances in some types of tests. Because of this, the music has been widely marketed as a learning tool. The faculty members studied two groups of classes at Essex County College. In the first group, the instructor played baroque-style music in the background during the first semester. The second group, taught by the same instructors, was not exposed to music during class time. After the first month, surveys showed that students who listened to music were more likely to enjoy class (86 percent vs. 76 percent) and less likely to find mathematics challenging (33 percent vs. 46 percent). Similar changes were noted in both groups regardless of which instructor taught the course. Preliminary results also indicated an improvement in student grades. Weber (2007) stated that Baroque music accelerates learning and enhances both short-term and long-term memory. Physiological effects of Baroque music on learners includes lowering of the blood pressure slows heart beat, decrease of beta waves by 6% but increase of alpha waves by an average of 6%, and the right and left brain hemispheres of the brain synchronized. As the body becomes relax and alert, the mind is able to concentrate more easily. Mowesian and Heyer (1973) tested the basic arithmetic skills of tenth grade students under five different music style conditions: silence, rock music, folk music, classical-instrumental, and classical-vocal. No significant mean exam score differences were found among the five music conditions. They suggested that because music or some other distracter so frequently accompanies participants studying, music may be assumed to raise their morale (p. 108) and that music may make studying and test-taking less tedious, boring, and anxiety-producing (p. 108). Wolfe (1983) researched the use of four volume levels of music while computing mathematics problems. Participants, 200 undergraduate non-music majors, were randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups. The groups were task only (no music), task plus background music at 60 – 70 dB, task plus background music at 70– 80 dB, and task plus background music at 80 – 90 dB. For the three music groups, the music consisted of four instrumental selections from motion picture sound tracks. The results indicated no significant difference in the number of problems completed by each group. Also there was no significant difference in the number of math problems completed correctly among the four groups. The participants were given a questionnaire concerning the effect of the loudness on their ability to complete the task. More participants in the 80 90 decibel music group felt that the loudness of the musical selections seemed to interfere with computing the math problems. Theoretical Framework This study anchors on the theory of human intelligence developed by psychologist Howard Gardner who suggested that there are several ways of perceiving and understanding the world that allow individuals to find and resolve problems they faced. This also interrelates the theory of Burrhus F. Skinner and Edward C. Tolman on the role of environment in learning. In 1983 Howard Gardner, psychology professor at Harvard University, presented his Multiple Intelligence theory based upon many years of research. Promoting the concept that intelligence is not one entity but that there are many different forms of intelligence, Gardner has awakened a revolution in learning. Multiple Intelligence teaching methods recognize eight (though there may be more) forms of intelligence: visual-spatial, linguistic, logical-mathematical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, musical, and most recently naturalist. Multiple Intelligence teachers strive to broaden students’ familiarity and skill levels in each area. In introducing musical intelligence, Gardner first stands back and identifies its basic core of objective features: rhythm, pitch, harmony, and timbre, but he soon moves closer to dwell on the mysterious emotional power of music. He then presents several kinds of evidence to support his theory that musical ability functions like intelligencewhat composers have called logical musical thinking and the musical mind. Musical abilities illustrate why Gardner rejects the simpler split-brain concept of mind. Although most musical abilities are located in the right hemisphere, trained musicians are likely to draw upon the left hemisphere in solving a task that the novice tackles primarily through the use of right hemisphere mechanisms. The Multiple Intelligence teaching model emphasizes education for understanding rather than rote memory or the mimicking of skills. Practical hands-on skill development is coupled with factual knowledge and the ability to apply skills and information in real-life situations and make meaningful contributions to society. Development of the musical intelligence can be greatly aided by the use of music throughout the curriculum. In addition to learning about musical elements and how to create music, the musical intelligence involves developing an ability to respond to musical sound and the ability to use music effectively in ones life. Edward C. Tolman (1886-1959), in his theory Sign/Purposive Learning indicates that cognitive processes are acquired relationships between environmental stimuli and responses. In his theory, the learner recognizes the significance of a stimulus and its different eatures. By following a series of recognizable signs toward a specific goal, learning becomes purposeful. His definition of stimulus is a perception, it is an environmental event that is processed by the organism, and definition of response is a learned behavior composed of performances. Burrhus F. Skinner (1904-1990), his theory Instrumental Learning contends that the most significant human behavior falls under the general heading of operant behavior, which means that there are observable stimuli that lead to human action. His basic approach is a functional analysis of the relationship between observable behavior and the external variables that identify those elements of the environment associated with the occurrence of a behavior or a response. Manipulation of the environment is involved to produce the desired behavior. Conceptual Framework Since learning is a function of the multiple intelligences inherent in the learner this study looks into the causal relationship between Baroque music and performance in Math problem task. It is said that music enhances the learning process. Figure I represent the conceptual framework of the study. Math Problem Solving ability is an aspect of the logical-mathematical and intelligence which could be affected by environmental stimulation such as the presence of Baroque music while doing a problem solving task. Gender and mental ability as possible factors that may affect problem solving ability are considered as control variables to eliminate their influence on the dependent variable in the study. The Problem Research What is the mean pretest score of the group exposed to Baroque music in the problem-solving task? What is the mean pretest score of the group not exposed to Baroque music in the problem-solving task? What is the mean posttest score of the group exposed to Baroque music in the Math Problem Solving task? What is the mean posttest score of the group not exposed to Baroque music in the Math Problem Solving task? Is there a significant difference in the mean pretest scores between the groups exposed to Baroque music and the group not exposed to Baroque music? Is there a significant difference in the mean posttest scores between the groups exposed to Baroque music and the group not exposed to Baroque music? Hypothesis The following hypothesis are tested in the study: There is no significant difference in the mean pretest scores between the groups exposed and unexposed to Baroque music. There is no significant difference in the posttest scores between groups exposed and unexposed to Baroque music. Definition of Terms Baroque Music- this term is associated with the era and the set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between 1600 to 1750. n this study it refers to the instrumental songs composed by Bach (Hapsichord Concerto in F Minor and Air on G String), Vivaldi (The Four Seasons), Albino (Adagio for Strings in G Minor), and Chopin (Nocturne for Piano No. 9). Performance in Math- this phrase refers to the score obtained in the problem-solving task designed to measure mathematical ability. Gender- refers to the sex of the person whether a girl or a boy. Significance of the Study This study is significant to parents because the results will give the them information how Baroque music can help in enhancing the mathematical ability of their children. Parents will encourage their children to appreciate Baroque music, and play it while reading, studying and doing homework. This also provides the teachers information that music is a powerful tool that they can use in the classroom to promote academic achievement and mental discipline. The intentional use of music in the classroom will set the scene and learning atmosphere to enhance teaching and learning activities. School administrators will know the necessary equipments to produce a better performance from their students. The recommendations made in this research are an attempt to find means and solutions to improve instructional facilities needed in subjects where Mathematics is concerned. Chapter II Methodology Research Design This study will utilize an experimental design to investigate the difference in the mathematical problem solving performance of pupils exposed to baroque style of music and those who are not exposed. The pre-test posttest non-equivalent comparison groups quasi-experimental design will be the method of investigation. This design is illustrated bellow: Group 1 01 X03 Group 2 02 04 The above diagram means that group 1 serves as the experimental group and receives the treatment (X). In this study X will be the baroque music. Group 2 will be the control group and does not receive the treatment. 01 and 02 correspond to the pretest while 03 and 04 correspond to the posttest of the control and experimental groups. Population and Sampling Procedure The total population of the Grade Six pupils of Zamboanga City Polytechnic State College is 34 and composed of only one section. Two groups will be used as respondents of the study, one for control and one for experimental. The assignment as to which one will be experimental or control will be done be random. Total enumeration will be used for the number of pupils in the class. Instrumentation An objective type of Math Achievement Test will serve as the instrument to measure Mathematical performance of Grade Six pupils. This will be administered at the start and end at the experimental sessions. Before the administration of the test the self-constructed Math test will be submitted to a panel of experts. Methodological Limitation This study is limited to the investigation of the effect of Baroque music to Mathematics Problem Solving test of the Grade Six Pupils of Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College, located at Baliwasan Chico, Zamboanga City. Data Collection Procedure A. Pre-experimental Phase Permission will be sought from the principal of the Elementary school of Zamboanga City State Polytechnic College to allow the researches to conduct the study. Preparation of the materials such as CD player and the disc containing the song/entitled Harpsichord Concerto in F Minor and Air on G String, The Four Seasons, Adagio for Strings in G Minor, Nocturne for Piano No. , which are Baroque style of musical copies of test instrument. Setting the classrooms that will be used in the conduct of experiments. The classroom setting shall be arranged in such a way that quiet, well ventilated and well-lighted conditions prevail. Discuss and orient with the Math teachers who will serve as confederates of the researchers. They will be briefed on the purpose and mechanics of the research project. This will be done after Math teachers consent to the proposal. B. Experimental Phase The experiment will begin upon opening the school year 2007-2008. he duration of the experimental will be for four weekly class sessions in Math subjects. The assignment as to which class will receive the treatment or serve as experimental groups and control group will be done by random. At the start of the experiment, the Math Achievement Test will be administered to both groups. Results of the test will serve as the pretest component of the experiment. Control Group Condition After the pretest has been conducted, the Math problem solving tasks of Math shall be done without background music. After four weeks a Math Achievement Test will be administered as posttest measure. Experimental Group Condition For this group, Math Problem Solving Task shall be done while baroque music is being played as background music. Data Analysis Procedure Data gathered from the study will be quantitatively analyzed through the use of descriptive and inferential statistics. Computation of the pretest posttest mean scores in the Math Achievement test will be conducted. Mean differences in the pre-test posttest Math Achievement scores between the experimental and control group will be analyzed using t-test.

How to Write Acknowledgements - Proofeds Writing Tips

How to Write Acknowledgements - Proofeds Writing Tips How to Write Acknowledgements If you are near the end of your thesis, you can start to think about putting on the finishing touches. One thing you will have to do here is write your acknowledgements. A lot of people worry about this, but there’s really no need. As we are about to show, its actually quite simple! What Are Acknowledgements? The acknowledgement section of a thesis is where you can thank everyone who has helped you in your research. It is typically located at the beginning of your thesis, right after the contents page, and shouldn’t really be more than one or two pages long. The best thing to do is to keep it concise. Who Should I Thank? Think about the people who were of crucial importance during your research. This could include friends, family or professors, or even volunteers who have taken part in your research. Its also important to acknowledge professional bodies who have given you funding or other help. How Should I Write It? There are no strict requirements for the tone of your acknowledgements; its essentially the one section where you can be a little bit more informal! Try to make sure the tone fits the person or organization youre thanking, though, maintaining a formal approach when addressing funding bodies or other official groups. Other than trying to be concise, the main thing you should keep in mind is varying your language, if only because starting every sentence with I would like to thank will sound a bit dull. There are several ways you could word your thanks. A few suggestions are: This research would not have been possible without†¦ My sincere thanks go to†¦ I am grateful to†¦ Heartfelt thanks to†¦ I would like to express my gratitude to†¦ Appreciation is due to†¦ I acknowledge the contribution of†¦ I am indebted to†¦ And that’s all there is to it! Relax and enjoy writing your acknowledgements. If youve got this far in the thesis-writing process, youre over the toughest bit now!

Reserch Paper on Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reserch Paper on Abortion - Essay Example â€Å"The question which we must answer in order to produce a satisfactory solution to the problem of the moral status of abortion is this: How are we to define the moral community, the set of beings with full and equal moral rights, such that we can decide whether a human fetus is a member of this community or not? What sort of entity, exactly, has the inalienable rights† (Warren, 1996). This report will look at this and other arguments around the general issue of abortion, providing answers to these questions and also posing new questions through the process of intensive research. In terms of Western philosophy, abortion has historically been a social issue that was mixed up with the time at which a fetus is said to gain a soul or become a human. Issues of morality were less important to these thinkers in terms of aborting a fetus that was seen not to yet have acquired a soul, which was seen to take form anywhere, by time, after four months post-conception. Therefore, American law, having a Western precedent in terms of philosophical and social maintenance of ideals in its beginnings, adopted this neutral morality in its own policies involving abortion, which was not the subject of penalty under early American law. In thinking of the psychology of morality in a political sphere, it is interesting to think of morality at the same time appearing in a social-scientific sphere of psychology, in terms of past and present ideals. It is the purpose of a psychological and social perspective to discuss these ideals in terms of a polarized national debate about abortio n, asking vital questions: â€Å"Is it better to be born as the result of a pregnancy that at least one parent intended or one that neither parent intended? If intentions diverge, do infants whose conception was intended by their mother fare better than those whose conception was intended by their father?† (Korenman, 2002). One must think of the serious social and psychological toll of unintended

Dunkin Donuts in England Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dunkin Donuts in England - Research Paper Example Finally, this proposal includes a thoroughly researched site selection process and final implementation strategy. The hallmark of Dunkin’s business model is customer loyalty. John Costello, Dunkin’ Donuts’ Chief Global Marketing and Innovation Officer, identified the opportunities for our team; guests of Dunkin Donuts have developed a connection with the brand that is truly unique. (Restaurant Magazine, 2012) The customer relationships we foster help sustain our profitability and success within the domestic and international markets. An increase in customer loyalty of only 5% can lift lifetime profits per customer by as much as 95%. For the sixth year in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts has been ranked #1 for coffee brand loyalty by Key Brands Consulting, (Brand Keys, 2012). This recognition is a testament to the quality of the products and services offered in each establishment across the nation. While Dunkin’ enjoys domestic brand loyalty from Americanâ€⠄¢s within the U.S., the competition is gaining strong competitive advantage in England. For example, Starbucks has opened over 700 stores in the U.K., (Barnett, 2011) which has allowed them to capture brand recognition and customer loyalty in this seemingly untapped market. Dunkin’ Donuts understands how to build, execute, and maintain a better and stronger customer loyalty from offering superior products and value. For this reason, the strategic team believes that expanding Dunkin’ Donuts to the U.K. will prove to be a tremendous success. England is ready to â€Å"Run on Dunkin’.† Strategic Analysis / Operational Plan Before considering global expansion, several factors should be considered including any currency and economic concerns, the current political environment, cultural complexities and potential trade barriers. The strategic analysis will review each of these with respect to expansion into England. The included SWOT analysis (appendix A) will summarize the issues and highlight Dunkin’ Donut’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to the global situation in England. Currency Concerns The United Kingdom is unlikely to give up monetary policy independence and adopt the Euro (Anonymous, 2012). While this decision has not influenced the high level of foreign investment continued in the U.K., it may be a factor when looking at interest rate risk. However, for the type of direct store structure Dunkin’ Donuts maintains, it should not be considered a barrier to global expansion. Inflation continues to be a concern as it has exceeded the 2% target throughout the past three years. Current inflation is reflective of the increases in commodity prices, higher import prices caused by the depreciation of the sterling, and the increase in the standard rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) (Monetary Policy Roundtable, 2011). The valuation of the sterling also influences England’s trade by lowering the price of exports relative to the price of imports. This results in a decline of real purchasing power, which could influence whether residents would have discretionary funds available to support new Dunkin’ Donut’s locations. However, the increase in available jobs that the new locations would bring should have positive

Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment

Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment Moral Ethical Development Chapter II: Literature Review Researching the moral development, ethical decision making approaches, and the adoption of utilitarian ethics on the part of Taiwanese CPAs begins with a thorough literature review of these specific topics. The intent of this chapter is to evaluate the research instruments used for supporting and validating the hypotheses of this study as well. For purposes of clarity, this chapter is organization into three sections, starting with a review of moral development theories. The second section concentrates on the most commonly used instruments for completing measurement of ethical judgment and decision-making, with the last section of the chapter presenting an overview of empirical studies designed specifically to measure Taiwanese CPAs’ relationship to ethical evaluation and ethical intentions and overall moral development. Introduction to Moral Development Much of the foundational work completed in moral development is attributed to theorists who together have refined the key aspects of this field in the last twenty-five years. The evolution of moral development theories has concentrated on increasingly on its role in defining psychological aspects of moral development (Rest, 1979). Adding to the body of knowledge on moral development are the works of Kohlberg (1976) and Piaget (1932). In conjunction with Rest (1979), the works of these two theorists show specifically how the development of moral delineations and definitions are formative and not absolute, and have specific attributes associated with each. As accountancy is a field that relies heavily on trust and the fulfillment of fiduciary responsibilities, the importance of ethical judgments in the field of study is clear. Accountants and CPAs need to be the sustainers of public trust in the accounting and auditing professions. Ironically however one of the world’s largest scandals, Enron, was architected by accountants and auditors, which lead the U.S. government to legislate into law the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. Later in this literature review the basis of the SOX Act will be discussed. As a result of the importance of ethical judgments in the accounting profession, several studies that are empirically based have had as their objective an assessment of the development of moral judgment, moral frameworks, and skills at assessing the ethical dilemmas that occur in the fulfillment of their professions. In researching and defining the moral development of organizations, the work of Paiget (1932) serves as a foundation, based on his assessment of how children form ethical and moral values through the study of their respect for rules. Paiget (1932) wrote The Moral Judgment of the Child to add to the field of knowledge on moral development. Paiget writes that â€Å"all morality consists in a system of rules, and the essence of all morality is to be sought for in the respect which the individual acquires for these rules† (p.13). Relying on observation as a research approach and completing interviews with a cross-section of boys to see how their comprehension of rules influencing the game was completed, Paiget was able to construct theories of moral development and the development of moral judgment. Paiget defined the concept of children developing morally through a progression from heteronomy, through stages of autonomy, finally to equity. Based on this research Paiget created a specific framework which describes the stages in conceptualization of moral decision-making and judgment, leading to the finding of rules presence and consciousness of rules as the foundation for developing moral judgment (Ponemon, 1990). The development of stages of Cognitive Developmental Theory (Piaget, 1997) are defined as follows. The first phase is where sensory-motor intelligence (younger than two years old) is prevalent. The second stage is pre-operational thought (two to seven years old) that serves as the foundation for creating more concrete concepts in the future. The third stage is called concrete operations and occurs between seven to eleven years old, with the fourth stage being formal operations that occur from eleven to adulthood. Paiget observed that by age 7, children begin playing with and cooperating with one another. Secondly Paiget observed children in the 11 to 12 age range see rules as permeable, capable of being negotiable and mutually agreeable. Theorizing that children are not born with the ability to understand and apply moral standards yet learn them over progressive stage, Piaget (1997) began creating a moral development theory that forms the foundation of Kohlberg’s creation of his own theories of moral development as well. Kohlberg refined and developed a six-stage sequence mode model and subsequently and empirically proved the assumptions of Piaget (1997), (Kohlberg 1976). His moral reasoning theory is a cognitive developmental theory that seeks to understand the reasoning behind how adults decide what course of action in morally right or wrong. Furthermore, Kohlberg’s theory develops sequentially through three levels of moral development,, with each level subdivided into two stages (Table 1), Kohlberg’s cognitive development theory is today regarded as a model and framework for ethics education according to Baxter and Rarick (1987) and Shenkir (1990). (Baxter Rarick, 1987; Shenkir, 1990) It’s clear that Piaget had a significant influence on the findings and conclusions of Kohlberg. This is evident for example in the second and third stages Kohlberg defines, which are exactly the same as Piaget’s. Despite this same approach to defining the specific level of moral development, Kohlberg differs from Piaget on the fourth through sixth stages of development. The factors that are driving the differences are the interpretations of internal moral convictions justice and that Kohlberg sees as overriding social expectations, norms, and values. Kohlberg’s work on moral development provided a foundation for further analysis of moral development and the formation of moral judgment as well. Specifically focused the measurement of the changes by stage of morale development, Kohlberg had defined a hypothesis that over time and throughout maturity children, then adults, become more attuned to moral development.(Kohlberg, 1981). Throughout the remainder of this life Kohlberg concentrated his efforts on moral education and the propagation of his theories. Despite the alignment of Kohlberg’s findings and analyses to Piaget (1997) and others in the area of normative moral development being aligned to the developmental phases of a child’s then adults’ life there are many critics of this view including the following academicians and theorists (Gilligan, 1993, , 1998; Gump, Baker, Roll, 2000; Reimer;, Paolitto, Hersh, 1990; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999, , 2000; Shweder, 1982; Spohn, 2000; Sullivan, 1977). Specifically these theorists have centered on four specific questions that form the foundation of their critique of Kohlberg’s theories (et.al.). First do the processes involved in moral reasoning foster and sustain moral behavior over time? Theorists remark that Kohlberg’s theory supports critical thinking regarding morality yet does not concentrating on what ought to be done versus what is actually accomplished (Sullivan, 1977). As part of this argument theorists contend that the lack of longitudinal empirical evidence to support the claim that the higher the level of moral judgment, the higher the level of moral behavior. During his lifetime, this was often discussed and presented as a critique of his work, an assessment he agreed with saying â€Å"I understand the theory of justice reasoning to be necessary but not sufficient for defining the full domain of what is meant by moral development† (Kohlberg, 1984). Whether or not knowing is equal to doing, knowing must typically come before doing, and so Kohlberg states that â€Å"the study of moral reasoning is valuable in its own right† (Kohlberg, 1984). Second, the suppositions that the only aspect of moral reasoning is justice when in fact there are many other factors to consider. The theorists have said that Kohlberg’s theories tend to overemphasize the perception of justice as the foundation for making decisions. Theorists have long argued that in addition to justice, additional factors including compassion, caring, and other interpersonal feelings may play an important part in moral reasoning. (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999; Spohn, 2000) The third major question of Kohlberg’s analysis is the minimal amount of empirical evidences for post-conventional level thinking , a critical assumption that underscore much of what Kohlberg based his analysis on(Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999)The fourth question that emerges from the analysis is an assessment of Kohlberg’s theories and the over-reliance on the role and influence of Western culture. Critics and theorists contend that there is equally if not more emphasis specifically from Eastern cultures as well that have not been taken into account (J. C. Gibbs, 2003; Spohn, 2000). As a result of these critiques specific to his work, in 1985 Kohlberg decided to eliminate the sixth stage of his work, citing a lack of empirical evidence and proven causality once thought to be present. In addition, there appears to be a dearth of evidence of support the fifth stage of his model, and in fact theorists pointed to little support from previous empirically derived research. In addition to the above points, theorists contend that there is a dearth of evidence for the fifth level of scoring as defined by Kohlberg (Snarey, 1985). Gibbs (1979) is credited with being a co-developer of the scoring system and concentrates on moral judgment development throughout the fourth stage of the Kohlberg framework. In addition, Kohlberg defended the empirical data for the fifth and sixth stages stating that statistically significant findings had supported his framework, despite the critics and the lack of empirical studies that could be replicated by other theorists. The fifth and sixth stages are clearly centered on post conventional thinking, which is a limitation of Kohlbergs framework. The book Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (Modgil Modgil, 1986) defines the shortcomings of the fifth and sixth stages of the Kohlberg model in depth, with several of the theorists mentioned in this literature review being the primary critics of Kohlberg’s theories. Analysis of Rest’s Theories James Rest (1979) developed a revision of the developmental process of moral judgment by looking at the shortcomings of Kohlberg (et.al.) and Piaget (1997). As a result, Rest’s moral judgment model is significantly different than Kohlberg’s (Rest, 1979). According to theorists, â€Å"For the measurement of moral reasoning, Rest’s model assesses an individual’s tendency to use concepts of justice based on social cooperation in his or her moral thinking, while Kohlberg’s model assesses an individual’s use of justice concepts, focusing more on exchange and individual interests† (Elm Weber, 1994), p. 346) Rest (1986) consequently a Four Component Model that captures for types of psychological processes must take place for an individual to experience moral behavior. The Rest Four Component Model is summarized by the key points below: Moral Judgment: the individual must make judgment on what should be the right thing to do. In other words, a person should be able to determine the appropriate action that is morally correct. Moral Sensitivity: This is defined as the interpretation of individuals’ actions in terms of responding to their overall assessment of situation. The intent of this aspect of the model is to refer to how an individual’s conduct is analyzed in terms of how is going to influence themselves and those who are associates and friends. Moral Motivation: the essence of defining and prioritizing moral decisions over competing contextual perceptions of morality. Moral values are, according to this model, above personal values. Moral values are always thought about first when making a decision. Moral Action: The sense of this specific element of the model requires the development of competence in the development and use of strategies that develop a moral foundation. According to this specific aspect of the model, the individual needs to have the integrity and self-determination to stay in alignment with their need for behaving morally and ethically over time. The point of this specific aspect of the model is that self-determination is a critical aspect of the total model. Assessing the Cognitive Moral Decision-Making Model The ethical decision-making of accounting, auditing and financial professionals have increasingly come under fire due to the major ethical lapses of these professionals that led to some of the largest scandals in history. Enron, MCI, Tyco and many other scandals are directly responsible for SOX legislation in the U.S. and a marked rise in compliance globally, preceded by the savings loan debacle of the 1980s, have together served as the catalyst of high levels of interest in the ethics of CPAs and finance professions (Cohen Pant, 1993; Lampe Finn, 1992; McNair Milam, 1993; Ponemon Gabhart, 1990; Shaub, 1994) From this body of research with regard to compliance surrounding ethics, Lampe and Finn (1992) have defined three dominant types of ethical decision making models. These are defined with the context of audits, and include agency models, cognitive models, and professional code-implied models. The intent of the study is primarily focused on the cognitive model component first, as it is the most pervasively used in evaluating the decision-making process of auditors (Ponemon Gabhart, 1993). Accounting ethics research, in the majority of studies is based on a cognitive moral decision making model as first analyzed and published by Rest (1986). Modeling the individual moral decision processes that include the reasoning and action processes in completing and carrying out ethical decisions and actions is defined in the model as well. According to the theory the person with a strong sense of morals is that that evaluates an ethical dilemma and situation to ensure that actions are evaluated for their ethicity first. In defining this model Rest (1984) states that interpreting the situation including the decision to try and decide which choices are, and if and how a decision might affect others (i.e., they try to determine if an ethical issue exists). The analysis next begins with an assessment that the use of moral judgment is also critical for the development of doing what ought to be done. The next step is to develop the moral intent and define just what exactly needs to be done. As part of this step the relative strengths and weaknesses of each decision is weighed by the emotions, perceptions, and socialization of the decision-maker. The final step is the selection of a given alternative that may or may not be taken based on the ethical judgment of the leader. (Rest, 1984). Recognize Moral Issue (Moral Sensitivity) Make Moral Judgment (Moral Judgment) Establish Moral Intention (Moral Motivation) Act Moral Behavior (Moral Action) In summary, the defined model of cognitive moral decision making, which is often referred to as Rest’s four component model, is used pervasively through the majority of accounting ethics research, and is also used for the insights into causality it provides. As a result of its pervasive use, this model serves as the foundation of the analysis of survey results completed as part of this dissertation as well. The Cognitive Ethical Decision Making Model is specifically focused on the development of the research plan and methodology in addition to analyzing the key results and findings from this research effort. Illustrating the Defining Issues Test (DIT) One of the other major contributions Rest (1979) made in ascertaining the ethics levels of respondents throughout his research was the development of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), which is also used in the research completed on this dissertation as a means of measuring theory of moral reasoning. Rest contends that the DIT model continues to supplant and enhance knowledge in the key area of empirical ethics research (Rest, 1979). How the DIT is constructed begins with a measurement of the individual’s responses to moral dilemmas often defined in the context of scenarios or short vignettes that explain the key concepts behind the concepts being tested. Through the use of these scenarios or vignettes, the respondents’ views of ethics and morality emerge (Rest 1979). The test is typically written yet has also been placed on websites to make it possible for respondents from many different locations geographically to take the test at the same time. It is considered one of the more effective tests at standardizing moral and ethical dilemmas and issue questions. The test is constructed with six dilemmas (three in the short version) is accompanied by 12 stage specific questions (items). The respondent next reads the dilemma and chooses one of three decisions that align with their perception of the situation. Following this, the respondent rates the importance of each of the 12 items to their decision. Finally, the respondent is asked to rank the four most important items using multiple choice questions. The Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) is a comparable test and allows the respondent to specifically respond with their statements about moral and ethical dilemmas presented. As is true with most research methods, the use of multiple-choice questions is more sound from a methodological standpoint and therefore improves the reliability factor of the DIT instrument over the MJI. The MJI requires the interviewer to assess the subject’s response and assign a value to that response, introducing bias into the analysis of results (Elm Webber, 1994). This method of scoring used in MJI could potentially influence the reliability of the results since the analyst who is interpreting the responses of the subject rather than the subject choosing a response from alternatives (Elm Webber, 1994). A typical structure of the DIT is a multiple-choice questionnaire that contains multiple scenarios or vignettes, and has been designed to have up to 12 moral arguments in each dilemma relating to moral reasoning. Each of the questions on the questionnaire asks the subjects to select the most illustrative or definitive response for each situation given their perspective of it. The DIT then uses a point system on a four-point scale to measure the overall responses and create a score that indicates the respondents’ moral and ethical reaction to the points made. A score of four points is given for the most important response, and one point given for the least important response. Both manually-based and machine-based approaches are used for tallying and analyzing the scores, with statistical analysis programs increasingly being used to manage this process. Often the scores are also measured as a series of indices as well. The Principled Index (P index or P score) is the most commonly used one in this field of research today (Rest, 1979). The first score mentioned is often the â€Å"P† score (principled morality) which defines the level of a respondents’ ethical cognition. This is a metric that quantifies the level of respondents’ reaction to scenarios and vignettes that are identified as Stage 5 and Stage 6 in the Rest’s theory. In addition to the â€Å"P† score, the â€Å"D† score quantifies responses fro all stages rather than just those identified in Stages 5 and 6. Critics have contended that the â€Å"P† score is more reliable and therefore more trustworthy as a measure of ethical cognition, a point that Rest has agreed with from his analysis (Rest, 1990). In re-assessing the value of â€Å"P† as a measure of ethical cognition, Rest wrote â€Å"†¦represents the sum of the weighted ranks given to principled items and is interpreted as the relative importance given to principled moral consideration in making a moral judgment. (p.101). Further supporting the reliability of the DIT test are the inclusion of control variables, or items that are purely included to provide a random check of consistency of responses (Rest, 1990). In more advanced research instruments, this approach to ensuring that the responses are consistent is commonly used. When incongruent or inconsistent responses are found they are given a code of â€Å"M† and tallied at the end of the survey. If this specific factor score is too high then the individual survey is considered unusable. Since its initial development, the test has been used in more than 500 documented studies globally, as claimed by its author (Rest, 1990). In quantifying the value of the research instrument from a reliability standpoint, there have been a series of internal validity measures completed as well, with a test-retest methodology used to track internal validity. Scores on these tests using the statistical technical called Chronbach’s alpha index deliver a consistently high level of reliability, with a .70 on the score of this specific statistical metric (Rest, 1986). One of the findings that Rest (1990) has seen from the work completed cumulatively is that the DIT scores tend to have a high correlation level to education and a low correlation to gender, religious beliefs and affiliates, and gender. The ability to empirically test moral development has been achieved with the DIT methodology, and by 1999 Rest and his colleagues created a new version, DIT-2 which is a revised updated stories and issue statements, was introduced. This new instrument is an improved version of the DIT, specifically including more measures of reliability and validity and the purging of questions that could lead to erroneous results despite the presence of control variables (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999). The DIT was chosen as the moral development instrument has the DIT-2 version has not been thoroughly tested enough therefore limited comparative data is available. This is especially true for accountant specific studies undertaken since the introduction of this second rating methodology. Secondly, while the DIT-2 generally is considered to be just as reliable as DIT given the latters’approach to managing reliability (Rest Narvaez, 1998). This specific dissertation will then focus on DIT as the measurement instrument for evaluating the ethics of Taiwanese CPAs. Empirical Analysis of Accountants through the use of DIT The concepts of moral development theory have provided the financial accounting profession with much opportunity for empirical research and investigation. While specific empirical studies have defined the current level of moral development of business majors including finance and accounting students, professional auditors, tenured and lecturing accounting educators, CPAs, and CMAs, there are many other empirically-derived studies that have focused on the relationship between moral development and various accounting specific behaviors. The intent of this area of the literature review is to represent the specific aspect of moral development research that has been conducted with respondents who are accountants. The impact of the six stage theory Kohlberg has often discussed and analyzed in the works cited in this research are also analysed using Rest’s four component model as foundation for completing an analysis using DIT results as the foundation for these efforts to create a pragmatic approach to analyzing the research. Validation of the DIT research instrument for use in conjunction with analyzing the ethical development of CPAs has been pioneered by Armstrong (1987) through the use of two samples of respondent group CPAs who were given the DIT. Using the mean DIT P scores of each respondent group and then comparing their relative means through the use of large samples of undergraduate college students, college graduate students, and adult respondents as reported by Rest (1979). After completing the analysis and calculating the mean DIT P scores, the results showed scores between the two CPA respondent groups as 37.1 and 38.5 respectively. Calculated mean DIT P scores of the three respondent audiences were as follows: college students (42.3), college graduates (53.3), and the adults in general (40.0). Armstrong (1987) stated that with the CPAs averaging only 1.1 years of post graduate education there was a significantly lower DIT P score reported and achieved by the CPAs. What also was found from the Armstrong analysis was that significantly lower DIT P scores obtained from CPAs occurred compared to both college students and adults as a general respondent group. From this analysis it’s clear that there is a normal progression in moral development that generally takes place in college, yet did not take place with the CPA groups. Their moral development, as measured by the DIT, had not progressed beyond that achieved by the general adult population. In addition to the research completed by Armstrong (1987) there has been significant work completed on the topic of moral development and theories of moral maturity relating to accounting students and professionals (St. Pierre, Nelson, Gabbin, 1990). This second study defined a respondent base of 479 seniors divided into 10 groups by major who were then given the DIT instrument to measure their level of cognitive ethical development. What is unique about this specific study is the definition of specific disciplines in the study as well including math, psychology, and social work. What is noteworthy from this student is that the mean DIT P scores for the respondent base of accounting majors were significantly below those of psychology majors. The researchers list the mean DIT P scores of 38.75 for the respondents who are male accountants and 45.85 for respondents are female accountants. This finding supported previous empirical studies relating to the development of ethical cognition in students, with female students receiving significantly higher scores, attributable to the previous results of empirical studies. Exacerbating these findings were also the DIT P score median value of 43.19 for college seniors. The use of the â€Å"M† value to ascertain the reliability of the study was also completed to better manage the sampling bias and potential errors. Based on these factors the research showed that there were no significant differences in DIT PI scores based on the exposure or not to an ethics course. Clearly the DTP P scores were seen as delineators of cognitive ethical development independent of formalized processes; there is in fact indication that ethically-oriented people do tend to gravitate towards majors that have a relatively high level of accountability, as psychology does for example. In an ancillary study, the work completed by Ponemon (1990) illustrated that through the study of 52 accountant respondents who ranged in position levels of staff, supervisor, manager, and partner were given the MJI to ascertain the relationship between moral stage development and hierarchical position. The results of the survey showed statistically significant results with the mean stage level increase from 3.4 at the staff level to 3.7 at the senior level and then to 4.1 at the supervisor level. While the MJI peaked at the supervisor level, mean stage levels decreased to 3.6 at the manager level and to a low of 2.9 at the partner level. Clearly the decline in MJI scores in this specific study contradicts the core concepts of moral development theory. Citing both a decline due to socialization and self-selection, Ponemon (1990) has stated that the results of this specific project do not necessarily refute ethical moral development theories. Following this research an paradigm (independence level) and the DIT were next analyzed (Ponemon Gabhart, 1990) in an empirical study of 119 respondents in a CPA firm group of audit managers and partners. Results of this specific analysis indicate that managers and partners who achieved low DIT P scores had the propensity to be more cognitively focused on the potential penalties than those respondents who have higher DIT P scores from the research. Not surprisingly there is a key finding from this research, that shows a significant negative relationship between rank and DIT P scores (managers-35.7; partners=30.1) in addition to the age and experience of respondents relative to their age and experience scores. Ponemon and Glazer (1990) also completed empirical research that attempted to add insights into the effects of a liberal college curriculum relative to the level of moral development. Respondents in this study are alumni practitioners in addition to two groups of students including freshmen, and accounting seniors. To ensure the study would be representative, respondents were randomly selected from two institutions that offer accounting degrees. The first institution included in the survey drew respondents from a private college where the accounting major curriculum is part of the liberal arts program. The second institution is a state university where accounting majors were not required or encouraged to take liberal arts courses. There were 143 total respondents in the study that completed the DIT, and the analysis of the results highlighted statistically significant scores between respondent groups. Further, the analysis revealed mean DIT P testing of freshman from both learning institutions was not significantly different between each of the learning institutions. At both the senior and alumni levels, the mean DIT P scores increased. Paradoxically the institution that had accounting as part of the liberal arts program had the higher DIT P scores than the institution that specifically focused on accounting as a core curriculum. In analyzing the results of the survey differences the researchers stated that to â€Å"†¦suggest that liberal learning in college may be an important factor in the development of the student’s and accounting practitioner’s moral reasoning† (p.204). The integration of accounting curriculum in liberal arts broader learning institutions has since become a foundational element in ethics research, and is relied on as a theoretical construct of the research completed in this dissertation. The dynamics involved in the moral development and perception of â€Å"whistle blowing† was studied in an empirical study that had 106 internal auditors as respondents by Arnold and Ponemon (1991) These researchers relied on the DIT research instrument to specifically assess the moral development in the context of experimental scenarios and vignettes surrounding a fraud case and experimental treatments that elicited the perception of internal auditors of â€Å"whistle blowing†. The results of this research illustrated the fact that internal auditors who scored low on the DIT P scale perceived the act of â€Å"whistle blowing† from the standpoint of personal punishment as a risk of unethical behavior than those with high DIT P scores. Clearly this supports the fact that the DIT P measurement instrument supports the contention that those internal auditors that have higher DIT P scores have a higher level of ethical cognition relative to those with lower DIT P scores. The internal auditors who scores lower on DIT P scores saw the act of â€Å"whistle blowing†, it can be inferred, as an external event that had negative consequences if a person was caught. This leads to the observation that internal auditors with low DIT P scores significantly externalize the ethical role of whistle blowers, while those with higher DIT P scores have already internalized ethical cognitions and see whistle blowing as incidental. Paradoxically however the main affiliation factors including punishment of others had little if any influence on the perc Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment Morality and Cognitive Decision Making Experiment Moral Ethical Development Chapter II: Literature Review Researching the moral development, ethical decision making approaches, and the adoption of utilitarian ethics on the part of Taiwanese CPAs begins with a thorough literature review of these specific topics. The intent of this chapter is to evaluate the research instruments used for supporting and validating the hypotheses of this study as well. For purposes of clarity, this chapter is organization into three sections, starting with a review of moral development theories. The second section concentrates on the most commonly used instruments for completing measurement of ethical judgment and decision-making, with the last section of the chapter presenting an overview of empirical studies designed specifically to measure Taiwanese CPAs’ relationship to ethical evaluation and ethical intentions and overall moral development. Introduction to Moral Development Much of the foundational work completed in moral development is attributed to theorists who together have refined the key aspects of this field in the last twenty-five years. The evolution of moral development theories has concentrated on increasingly on its role in defining psychological aspects of moral development (Rest, 1979). Adding to the body of knowledge on moral development are the works of Kohlberg (1976) and Piaget (1932). In conjunction with Rest (1979), the works of these two theorists show specifically how the development of moral delineations and definitions are formative and not absolute, and have specific attributes associated with each. As accountancy is a field that relies heavily on trust and the fulfillment of fiduciary responsibilities, the importance of ethical judgments in the field of study is clear. Accountants and CPAs need to be the sustainers of public trust in the accounting and auditing professions. Ironically however one of the world’s largest scandals, Enron, was architected by accountants and auditors, which lead the U.S. government to legislate into law the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act of 2002. Later in this literature review the basis of the SOX Act will be discussed. As a result of the importance of ethical judgments in the accounting profession, several studies that are empirically based have had as their objective an assessment of the development of moral judgment, moral frameworks, and skills at assessing the ethical dilemmas that occur in the fulfillment of their professions. In researching and defining the moral development of organizations, the work of Paiget (1932) serves as a foundation, based on his assessment of how children form ethical and moral values through the study of their respect for rules. Paiget (1932) wrote The Moral Judgment of the Child to add to the field of knowledge on moral development. Paiget writes that â€Å"all morality consists in a system of rules, and the essence of all morality is to be sought for in the respect which the individual acquires for these rules† (p.13). Relying on observation as a research approach and completing interviews with a cross-section of boys to see how their comprehension of rules influencing the game was completed, Paiget was able to construct theories of moral development and the development of moral judgment. Paiget defined the concept of children developing morally through a progression from heteronomy, through stages of autonomy, finally to equity. Based on this research Paiget created a specific framework which describes the stages in conceptualization of moral decision-making and judgment, leading to the finding of rules presence and consciousness of rules as the foundation for developing moral judgment (Ponemon, 1990). The development of stages of Cognitive Developmental Theory (Piaget, 1997) are defined as follows. The first phase is where sensory-motor intelligence (younger than two years old) is prevalent. The second stage is pre-operational thought (two to seven years old) that serves as the foundation for creating more concrete concepts in the future. The third stage is called concrete operations and occurs between seven to eleven years old, with the fourth stage being formal operations that occur from eleven to adulthood. Paiget observed that by age 7, children begin playing with and cooperating with one another. Secondly Paiget observed children in the 11 to 12 age range see rules as permeable, capable of being negotiable and mutually agreeable. Theorizing that children are not born with the ability to understand and apply moral standards yet learn them over progressive stage, Piaget (1997) began creating a moral development theory that forms the foundation of Kohlberg’s creation of his own theories of moral development as well. Kohlberg refined and developed a six-stage sequence mode model and subsequently and empirically proved the assumptions of Piaget (1997), (Kohlberg 1976). His moral reasoning theory is a cognitive developmental theory that seeks to understand the reasoning behind how adults decide what course of action in morally right or wrong. Furthermore, Kohlberg’s theory develops sequentially through three levels of moral development,, with each level subdivided into two stages (Table 1), Kohlberg’s cognitive development theory is today regarded as a model and framework for ethics education according to Baxter and Rarick (1987) and Shenkir (1990). (Baxter Rarick, 1987; Shenkir, 1990) It’s clear that Piaget had a significant influence on the findings and conclusions of Kohlberg. This is evident for example in the second and third stages Kohlberg defines, which are exactly the same as Piaget’s. Despite this same approach to defining the specific level of moral development, Kohlberg differs from Piaget on the fourth through sixth stages of development. The factors that are driving the differences are the interpretations of internal moral convictions justice and that Kohlberg sees as overriding social expectations, norms, and values. Kohlberg’s work on moral development provided a foundation for further analysis of moral development and the formation of moral judgment as well. Specifically focused the measurement of the changes by stage of morale development, Kohlberg had defined a hypothesis that over time and throughout maturity children, then adults, become more attuned to moral development.(Kohlberg, 1981). Throughout the remainder of this life Kohlberg concentrated his efforts on moral education and the propagation of his theories. Despite the alignment of Kohlberg’s findings and analyses to Piaget (1997) and others in the area of normative moral development being aligned to the developmental phases of a child’s then adults’ life there are many critics of this view including the following academicians and theorists (Gilligan, 1993, , 1998; Gump, Baker, Roll, 2000; Reimer;, Paolitto, Hersh, 1990; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999, , 2000; Shweder, 1982; Spohn, 2000; Sullivan, 1977). Specifically these theorists have centered on four specific questions that form the foundation of their critique of Kohlberg’s theories (et.al.). First do the processes involved in moral reasoning foster and sustain moral behavior over time? Theorists remark that Kohlberg’s theory supports critical thinking regarding morality yet does not concentrating on what ought to be done versus what is actually accomplished (Sullivan, 1977). As part of this argument theorists contend that the lack of longitudinal empirical evidence to support the claim that the higher the level of moral judgment, the higher the level of moral behavior. During his lifetime, this was often discussed and presented as a critique of his work, an assessment he agreed with saying â€Å"I understand the theory of justice reasoning to be necessary but not sufficient for defining the full domain of what is meant by moral development† (Kohlberg, 1984). Whether or not knowing is equal to doing, knowing must typically come before doing, and so Kohlberg states that â€Å"the study of moral reasoning is valuable in its own right† (Kohlberg, 1984). Second, the suppositions that the only aspect of moral reasoning is justice when in fact there are many other factors to consider. The theorists have said that Kohlberg’s theories tend to overemphasize the perception of justice as the foundation for making decisions. Theorists have long argued that in addition to justice, additional factors including compassion, caring, and other interpersonal feelings may play an important part in moral reasoning. (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999; Spohn, 2000) The third major question of Kohlberg’s analysis is the minimal amount of empirical evidences for post-conventional level thinking , a critical assumption that underscore much of what Kohlberg based his analysis on(Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999)The fourth question that emerges from the analysis is an assessment of Kohlberg’s theories and the over-reliance on the role and influence of Western culture. Critics and theorists contend that there is equally if not more emphasis specifically from Eastern cultures as well that have not been taken into account (J. C. Gibbs, 2003; Spohn, 2000). As a result of these critiques specific to his work, in 1985 Kohlberg decided to eliminate the sixth stage of his work, citing a lack of empirical evidence and proven causality once thought to be present. In addition, there appears to be a dearth of evidence of support the fifth stage of his model, and in fact theorists pointed to little support from previous empirically derived research. In addition to the above points, theorists contend that there is a dearth of evidence for the fifth level of scoring as defined by Kohlberg (Snarey, 1985). Gibbs (1979) is credited with being a co-developer of the scoring system and concentrates on moral judgment development throughout the fourth stage of the Kohlberg framework. In addition, Kohlberg defended the empirical data for the fifth and sixth stages stating that statistically significant findings had supported his framework, despite the critics and the lack of empirical studies that could be replicated by other theorists. The fifth and sixth stages are clearly centered on post conventional thinking, which is a limitation of Kohlbergs framework. The book Lawrence Kohlberg: Consensus and Controversy (Modgil Modgil, 1986) defines the shortcomings of the fifth and sixth stages of the Kohlberg model in depth, with several of the theorists mentioned in this literature review being the primary critics of Kohlberg’s theories. Analysis of Rest’s Theories James Rest (1979) developed a revision of the developmental process of moral judgment by looking at the shortcomings of Kohlberg (et.al.) and Piaget (1997). As a result, Rest’s moral judgment model is significantly different than Kohlberg’s (Rest, 1979). According to theorists, â€Å"For the measurement of moral reasoning, Rest’s model assesses an individual’s tendency to use concepts of justice based on social cooperation in his or her moral thinking, while Kohlberg’s model assesses an individual’s use of justice concepts, focusing more on exchange and individual interests† (Elm Weber, 1994), p. 346) Rest (1986) consequently a Four Component Model that captures for types of psychological processes must take place for an individual to experience moral behavior. The Rest Four Component Model is summarized by the key points below: Moral Judgment: the individual must make judgment on what should be the right thing to do. In other words, a person should be able to determine the appropriate action that is morally correct. Moral Sensitivity: This is defined as the interpretation of individuals’ actions in terms of responding to their overall assessment of situation. The intent of this aspect of the model is to refer to how an individual’s conduct is analyzed in terms of how is going to influence themselves and those who are associates and friends. Moral Motivation: the essence of defining and prioritizing moral decisions over competing contextual perceptions of morality. Moral values are, according to this model, above personal values. Moral values are always thought about first when making a decision. Moral Action: The sense of this specific element of the model requires the development of competence in the development and use of strategies that develop a moral foundation. According to this specific aspect of the model, the individual needs to have the integrity and self-determination to stay in alignment with their need for behaving morally and ethically over time. The point of this specific aspect of the model is that self-determination is a critical aspect of the total model. Assessing the Cognitive Moral Decision-Making Model The ethical decision-making of accounting, auditing and financial professionals have increasingly come under fire due to the major ethical lapses of these professionals that led to some of the largest scandals in history. Enron, MCI, Tyco and many other scandals are directly responsible for SOX legislation in the U.S. and a marked rise in compliance globally, preceded by the savings loan debacle of the 1980s, have together served as the catalyst of high levels of interest in the ethics of CPAs and finance professions (Cohen Pant, 1993; Lampe Finn, 1992; McNair Milam, 1993; Ponemon Gabhart, 1990; Shaub, 1994) From this body of research with regard to compliance surrounding ethics, Lampe and Finn (1992) have defined three dominant types of ethical decision making models. These are defined with the context of audits, and include agency models, cognitive models, and professional code-implied models. The intent of the study is primarily focused on the cognitive model component first, as it is the most pervasively used in evaluating the decision-making process of auditors (Ponemon Gabhart, 1993). Accounting ethics research, in the majority of studies is based on a cognitive moral decision making model as first analyzed and published by Rest (1986). Modeling the individual moral decision processes that include the reasoning and action processes in completing and carrying out ethical decisions and actions is defined in the model as well. According to the theory the person with a strong sense of morals is that that evaluates an ethical dilemma and situation to ensure that actions are evaluated for their ethicity first. In defining this model Rest (1984) states that interpreting the situation including the decision to try and decide which choices are, and if and how a decision might affect others (i.e., they try to determine if an ethical issue exists). The analysis next begins with an assessment that the use of moral judgment is also critical for the development of doing what ought to be done. The next step is to develop the moral intent and define just what exactly needs to be done. As part of this step the relative strengths and weaknesses of each decision is weighed by the emotions, perceptions, and socialization of the decision-maker. The final step is the selection of a given alternative that may or may not be taken based on the ethical judgment of the leader. (Rest, 1984). Recognize Moral Issue (Moral Sensitivity) Make Moral Judgment (Moral Judgment) Establish Moral Intention (Moral Motivation) Act Moral Behavior (Moral Action) In summary, the defined model of cognitive moral decision making, which is often referred to as Rest’s four component model, is used pervasively through the majority of accounting ethics research, and is also used for the insights into causality it provides. As a result of its pervasive use, this model serves as the foundation of the analysis of survey results completed as part of this dissertation as well. The Cognitive Ethical Decision Making Model is specifically focused on the development of the research plan and methodology in addition to analyzing the key results and findings from this research effort. Illustrating the Defining Issues Test (DIT) One of the other major contributions Rest (1979) made in ascertaining the ethics levels of respondents throughout his research was the development of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), which is also used in the research completed on this dissertation as a means of measuring theory of moral reasoning. Rest contends that the DIT model continues to supplant and enhance knowledge in the key area of empirical ethics research (Rest, 1979). How the DIT is constructed begins with a measurement of the individual’s responses to moral dilemmas often defined in the context of scenarios or short vignettes that explain the key concepts behind the concepts being tested. Through the use of these scenarios or vignettes, the respondents’ views of ethics and morality emerge (Rest 1979). The test is typically written yet has also been placed on websites to make it possible for respondents from many different locations geographically to take the test at the same time. It is considered one of the more effective tests at standardizing moral and ethical dilemmas and issue questions. The test is constructed with six dilemmas (three in the short version) is accompanied by 12 stage specific questions (items). The respondent next reads the dilemma and chooses one of three decisions that align with their perception of the situation. Following this, the respondent rates the importance of each of the 12 items to their decision. Finally, the respondent is asked to rank the four most important items using multiple choice questions. The Moral Judgment Interview (MJI) is a comparable test and allows the respondent to specifically respond with their statements about moral and ethical dilemmas presented. As is true with most research methods, the use of multiple-choice questions is more sound from a methodological standpoint and therefore improves the reliability factor of the DIT instrument over the MJI. The MJI requires the interviewer to assess the subject’s response and assign a value to that response, introducing bias into the analysis of results (Elm Webber, 1994). This method of scoring used in MJI could potentially influence the reliability of the results since the analyst who is interpreting the responses of the subject rather than the subject choosing a response from alternatives (Elm Webber, 1994). A typical structure of the DIT is a multiple-choice questionnaire that contains multiple scenarios or vignettes, and has been designed to have up to 12 moral arguments in each dilemma relating to moral reasoning. Each of the questions on the questionnaire asks the subjects to select the most illustrative or definitive response for each situation given their perspective of it. The DIT then uses a point system on a four-point scale to measure the overall responses and create a score that indicates the respondents’ moral and ethical reaction to the points made. A score of four points is given for the most important response, and one point given for the least important response. Both manually-based and machine-based approaches are used for tallying and analyzing the scores, with statistical analysis programs increasingly being used to manage this process. Often the scores are also measured as a series of indices as well. The Principled Index (P index or P score) is the most commonly used one in this field of research today (Rest, 1979). The first score mentioned is often the â€Å"P† score (principled morality) which defines the level of a respondents’ ethical cognition. This is a metric that quantifies the level of respondents’ reaction to scenarios and vignettes that are identified as Stage 5 and Stage 6 in the Rest’s theory. In addition to the â€Å"P† score, the â€Å"D† score quantifies responses fro all stages rather than just those identified in Stages 5 and 6. Critics have contended that the â€Å"P† score is more reliable and therefore more trustworthy as a measure of ethical cognition, a point that Rest has agreed with from his analysis (Rest, 1990). In re-assessing the value of â€Å"P† as a measure of ethical cognition, Rest wrote â€Å"†¦represents the sum of the weighted ranks given to principled items and is interpreted as the relative importance given to principled moral consideration in making a moral judgment. (p.101). Further supporting the reliability of the DIT test are the inclusion of control variables, or items that are purely included to provide a random check of consistency of responses (Rest, 1990). In more advanced research instruments, this approach to ensuring that the responses are consistent is commonly used. When incongruent or inconsistent responses are found they are given a code of â€Å"M† and tallied at the end of the survey. If this specific factor score is too high then the individual survey is considered unusable. Since its initial development, the test has been used in more than 500 documented studies globally, as claimed by its author (Rest, 1990). In quantifying the value of the research instrument from a reliability standpoint, there have been a series of internal validity measures completed as well, with a test-retest methodology used to track internal validity. Scores on these tests using the statistical technical called Chronbach’s alpha index deliver a consistently high level of reliability, with a .70 on the score of this specific statistical metric (Rest, 1986). One of the findings that Rest (1990) has seen from the work completed cumulatively is that the DIT scores tend to have a high correlation level to education and a low correlation to gender, religious beliefs and affiliates, and gender. The ability to empirically test moral development has been achieved with the DIT methodology, and by 1999 Rest and his colleagues created a new version, DIT-2 which is a revised updated stories and issue statements, was introduced. This new instrument is an improved version of the DIT, specifically including more measures of reliability and validity and the purging of questions that could lead to erroneous results despite the presence of control variables (Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, Bebeau, 1999). The DIT was chosen as the moral development instrument has the DIT-2 version has not been thoroughly tested enough therefore limited comparative data is available. This is especially true for accountant specific studies undertaken since the introduction of this second rating methodology. Secondly, while the DIT-2 generally is considered to be just as reliable as DIT given the latters’approach to managing reliability (Rest Narvaez, 1998). This specific dissertation will then focus on DIT as the measurement instrument for evaluating the ethics of Taiwanese CPAs. Empirical Analysis of Accountants through the use of DIT The concepts of moral development theory have provided the financial accounting profession with much opportunity for empirical research and investigation. While specific empirical studies have defined the current level of moral development of business majors including finance and accounting students, professional auditors, tenured and lecturing accounting educators, CPAs, and CMAs, there are many other empirically-derived studies that have focused on the relationship between moral development and various accounting specific behaviors. The intent of this area of the literature review is to represent the specific aspect of moral development research that has been conducted with respondents who are accountants. The impact of the six stage theory Kohlberg has often discussed and analyzed in the works cited in this research are also analysed using Rest’s four component model as foundation for completing an analysis using DIT results as the foundation for these efforts to create a pragmatic approach to analyzing the research. Validation of the DIT research instrument for use in conjunction with analyzing the ethical development of CPAs has been pioneered by Armstrong (1987) through the use of two samples of respondent group CPAs who were given the DIT. Using the mean DIT P scores of each respondent group and then comparing their relative means through the use of large samples of undergraduate college students, college graduate students, and adult respondents as reported by Rest (1979). After completing the analysis and calculating the mean DIT P scores, the results showed scores between the two CPA respondent groups as 37.1 and 38.5 respectively. Calculated mean DIT P scores of the three respondent audiences were as follows: college students (42.3), college graduates (53.3), and the adults in general (40.0). Armstrong (1987) stated that with the CPAs averaging only 1.1 years of post graduate education there was a significantly lower DIT P score reported and achieved by the CPAs. What also was found from the Armstrong analysis was that significantly lower DIT P scores obtained from CPAs occurred compared to both college students and adults as a general respondent group. From this analysis it’s clear that there is a normal progression in moral development that generally takes place in college, yet did not take place with the CPA groups. Their moral development, as measured by the DIT, had not progressed beyond that achieved by the general adult population. In addition to the research completed by Armstrong (1987) there has been significant work completed on the topic of moral development and theories of moral maturity relating to accounting students and professionals (St. Pierre, Nelson, Gabbin, 1990). This second study defined a respondent base of 479 seniors divided into 10 groups by major who were then given the DIT instrument to measure their level of cognitive ethical development. What is unique about this specific study is the definition of specific disciplines in the study as well including math, psychology, and social work. What is noteworthy from this student is that the mean DIT P scores for the respondent base of accounting majors were significantly below those of psychology majors. The researchers list the mean DIT P scores of 38.75 for the respondents who are male accountants and 45.85 for respondents are female accountants. This finding supported previous empirical studies relating to the development of ethical cognition in students, with female students receiving significantly higher scores, attributable to the previous results of empirical studies. Exacerbating these findings were also the DIT P score median value of 43.19 for college seniors. The use of the â€Å"M† value to ascertain the reliability of the study was also completed to better manage the sampling bias and potential errors. Based on these factors the research showed that there were no significant differences in DIT PI scores based on the exposure or not to an ethics course. Clearly the DTP P scores were seen as delineators of cognitive ethical development independent of formalized processes; there is in fact indication that ethically-oriented people do tend to gravitate towards majors that have a relatively high level of accountability, as psychology does for example. In an ancillary study, the work completed by Ponemon (1990) illustrated that through the study of 52 accountant respondents who ranged in position levels of staff, supervisor, manager, and partner were given the MJI to ascertain the relationship between moral stage development and hierarchical position. The results of the survey showed statistically significant results with the mean stage level increase from 3.4 at the staff level to 3.7 at the senior level and then to 4.1 at the supervisor level. While the MJI peaked at the supervisor level, mean stage levels decreased to 3.6 at the manager level and to a low of 2.9 at the partner level. Clearly the decline in MJI scores in this specific study contradicts the core concepts of moral development theory. Citing both a decline due to socialization and self-selection, Ponemon (1990) has stated that the results of this specific project do not necessarily refute ethical moral development theories. Following this research an paradigm (independence level) and the DIT were next analyzed (Ponemon Gabhart, 1990) in an empirical study of 119 respondents in a CPA firm group of audit managers and partners. Results of this specific analysis indicate that managers and partners who achieved low DIT P scores had the propensity to be more cognitively focused on the potential penalties than those respondents who have higher DIT P scores from the research. Not surprisingly there is a key finding from this research, that shows a significant negative relationship between rank and DIT P scores (managers-35.7; partners=30.1) in addition to the age and experience of respondents relative to their age and experience scores. Ponemon and Glazer (1990) also completed empirical research that attempted to add insights into the effects of a liberal college curriculum relative to the level of moral development. Respondents in this study are alumni practitioners in addition to two groups of students including freshmen, and accounting seniors. To ensure the study would be representative, respondents were randomly selected from two institutions that offer accounting degrees. The first institution included in the survey drew respondents from a private college where the accounting major curriculum is part of the liberal arts program. The second institution is a state university where accounting majors were not required or encouraged to take liberal arts courses. There were 143 total respondents in the study that completed the DIT, and the analysis of the results highlighted statistically significant scores between respondent groups. Further, the analysis revealed mean DIT P testing of freshman from both learning institutions was not significantly different between each of the learning institutions. At both the senior and alumni levels, the mean DIT P scores increased. Paradoxically the institution that had accounting as part of the liberal arts program had the higher DIT P scores than the institution that specifically focused on accounting as a core curriculum. In analyzing the results of the survey differences the researchers stated that to â€Å"†¦suggest that liberal learning in college may be an important factor in the development of the student’s and accounting practitioner’s moral reasoning† (p.204). The integration of accounting curriculum in liberal arts broader learning institutions has since become a foundational element in ethics research, and is relied on as a theoretical construct of the research completed in this dissertation. The dynamics involved in the moral development and perception of â€Å"whistle blowing† was studied in an empirical study that had 106 internal auditors as respondents by Arnold and Ponemon (1991) These researchers relied on the DIT research instrument to specifically assess the moral development in the context of experimental scenarios and vignettes surrounding a fraud case and experimental treatments that elicited the perception of internal auditors of â€Å"whistle blowing†. The results of this research illustrated the fact that internal auditors who scored low on the DIT P scale perceived the act of â€Å"whistle blowing† from the standpoint of personal punishment as a risk of unethical behavior than those with high DIT P scores. Clearly this supports the fact that the DIT P measurement instrument supports the contention that those internal auditors that have higher DIT P scores have a higher level of ethical cognition relative to those with lower DIT P scores. The internal auditors who scores lower on DIT P scores saw the act of â€Å"whistle blowing†, it can be inferred, as an external event that had negative consequences if a person was caught. This leads to the observation that internal auditors with low DIT P scores significantly externalize the ethical role of whistle blowers, while those with higher DIT P scores have already internalized ethical cognitions and see whistle blowing as incidental. Paradoxically however the main affiliation factors including punishment of others had little if any influence on the perc