Compare how a sense of claustrophobia is built up in the Handmaids Tale and an Evil Cradling

Margret Atwood's fictive autobiography ‘The Handmaid's Tale' And Brian Keenan's autobiography, ‘An Evil Cradling' documenting his kidnapping by fundamentalist Shi'ite militiamen both present a sense of claustrophobia. Each novel presents tional. strophobia Keenan' the manifestation of claustrophobia within the protagonists. ‘An Evil Cradling' presents Keenan's physical claustrophobia as a hostage and the emotional entrapment. Both authors successfully create a sense of claustrophobia whilst exploring the different situations of both protagonists. Both Offred and Keenan's lifestyles appear even more claustrophobic in contrast to their previous lives. There is an asymmetry in the presentation of a sense of claustrophobia within and between the two novels. Whilst on the one hand, both writers deal with the notion of claustrophobia as having a negative consequence on their lives. On the other hand the life of the main protagonists before their captive state is presented with considerable differences. These differences are exemplified in the opening chapters of both texts. Keenan in his exploration of life before captivity seems to suggest life was not all that tranquil and certainly not without its problems before he was taken captive in the Lebanon, where one might imagine the root of all his problems with claustrophobia began. In the preface Keenan states, â€Å"I was brought up in that harsh, divided landscape of Northern Irish, working class and I went into with all its baggage. † Furthermore he claims in his first chapter, â€Å"Before I left Belfast, I had been torn with a desperate kind of love and distaste for my place. Both statements from the two parts of Keenan's book, show that his life, as he puts it himself, was a type of ‘cul-de-sac. ‘ This metaphor for a dead-end shows that Keenan was no more free in his native Ireland, so much that he was forced to seek mental comfort elsewhere. The entire opening chapter of an evil cradling highlights Keenan's disconnection with his country and how he felt trapped and a sense of c laustrophobia in a place so familiar to him. Contrastingly, Atwood presents her protagonist as having a far more affectionate, possibly ‘rose tinted' view on her life before taken into captivity. In Atwood's ‘A Handmaid's Tale' Offred conveys a large amount of nostalgia towards her past. In the opening chapter Atwood contrasts the senses of the past. The lights are vividly described as â€Å"a revolving ball of mirrors, powdering the dancers with a snow of light. † Atwood chooses this poetic metaphor to show her fondness towards previous times. Atwood describes the simplicity of the lights under the regime â€Å"The lights were turned down but not out. † Offred's feelings of extreme claustrophobia are exacerbated through the juxtaposition of the former senses. In Offred's case she is more sensitive towards these feelings of freedom. Offred is a victim of gradual entrapment that has been apparent in her society for many years; chapter 28 reveals the gradual oppression of women â€Å"Things continued in that state of suspended animation for weeks†¦ Newspapers were censored†¦ roadblocks began to appear, and identipasses†¦ † by stripping women of their political and social rights the Gileadean regime came to power. Offred uses listing to highlight the continuous changes in society, specifically directed at women, showing her own shock and resentment towards her gradual confinement. Offred does not only demonstrate nostalgia towards her past in the opening chapters. Atwood constantly uses similes throughout that are reminiscent of the past. These similes present an escape from the routine regime; they often involve the senses which allow Offred to escape the regime by remembering and juxtaposing elements and senses of the past. † It's almost like June,† Offred shifts in mental perspective via association of seasons, Offred's memories of the seasons are superimposed over Gilead's charade of normality, it is as though Offred escapes into her own private narrative underneath her imprisonment as a handmaid her recollections act as freedom from the past. Both Offred and Keenan's sense of claustrophobia is intensified by the way that their human rights are no longer recognised and they have no freedom of choice. Keenan's beard is used in ‘The Devil's Barbershop' to symbolise his dignity and freedom of choice. Keenan is very reluctant to have his beard shaved off; his behaviour becomes the manifestation of claustrophobia. He becomes attached to his beard and it symbolises his freedom of expression, â€Å"I've had this beard for too long for some halfwit who thinks he owns me to make me what he wants me to be. Throughout this passage Keenan uses long sentences that highlight his heightened emotions, Keenan's aggressive tone towards his captors also shows his reluctance to change, Keenan's identity is displayed through his beard and similarly to Offred he is being made to conform and accept his claustrophobic surroundings. In â€Å"The Handmaid's Tale† Offred is defined by her uniform, and looses her previous identity. This expresses that in Gilead their lives have become so claustrophobic that even their ability to express themselves has been repressed. Offred feels trapped in a system which rigidly controls women. The colour coding of women's clothes indicates that in this society their individual identities are lost in prescribed roles. â€Å"Everything except the wings around my face is red: the colour of blood, which defines us†¦ a sister, dipped in blood. † Atwood uses this negative metaphor to highlight Offred's feelings towards loosing her individuality. Offred's uniform in addition acts as a physical restriction, â€Å"The white wings†¦ they are to keep us from seeing, but also from being seen. It is made apparent that their clothes are also a way of physically restricting them as way of control, deliberately designed to limit the Handmaids view. The blood red is a constant reminder of the vilification of women in Giliadean society. ‘Blood red' is symbolised throughout the novel and acts as a constant reminder to Offred's role in society, although her role as a child barer allows her more freedom unde r the regime it is also the one thing that traps her. The description of the characters' surroundings and routines present a sense of claustrophobia, Offred's account of going out and doing the daily shopping illustrates this. Under the Gileadaen regime the Handmaids never went out unaccompanied, this partnership system provided both chaperones and spies. Offred considers the image of both women dressed identically in red, thinking of them as doubles, both visually and in circumstances. â€Å"The truth is that she is my spy, as I am hers. † Each woman traps the other. However, a suggestion of freedom is present in the structure of the two novels. For Keenan, his ability to let his mind wander in times of extreme captivity has been vital to his survival. Keenan changes tenses abruptly, from describing the cell, to a present time, showing the way in which his mind jumps, to escape his present situation. However, in â€Å"Into the Bread Basket† Keenan's senses were shut down by the â€Å"tight confinement of the tape† which â€Å"will not let my mind escape. † Now that even his mind cannot escape he feels as if a â€Å"riot is bursting out within my senses† which further reflects how his repressed senses are desperate to escape the confinement, without his freedom of mind Keenan finds himself completely trapped. Correspondingly, Offred is able to escape into her private world of memory and desire. Offred uses storytelling as a means of personal survival her narrative is the only way of bridging the gap between an isolated self and the world outside. â€Å"It is also a story I am telling, in my head, as I go along. † Offred is able to escape the intense feelings of claustrophobia through expressing her feelings. Atwood chooses short sentences to emulate the natural nature of speech resulting in a flowing structure. Fear plays a main role in increasing the sense of physical claustrophobia experienced by both Keenan and Offred. In ‘into the bread basket' Keenan uses imagery that creates associations with death â€Å"I am being embalmed and mummified† and â€Å"I am going back to the coffin. † This demonstrates how in such claustrophobic conditions where all his senses have been effectively shut off he is completely helpless and that in these cramped dark conditions the difference between life and death becomes uncertain. Keenan carries on this extended metaphor in the oxymoron â€Å"a living corpse† this again reflects the negative experience of being in such claustrophobic conditions. Finally, both authors have used literary and structural techniques to reveal the many ways in which claustrophobia can be created and intensified. Although the two protagonists' situations are very different, as Offred lives a controlled and limited life and Keenan one of absolute entrapment they show many similar traits and emotions triggered from their individual feelings of claustrophobia.

Introduction to Linguistics Essay

What is meant by the field of linguistics? This introductory chapter concerns some dimensions of linguistics, which give us a general idea of what linguistics is, including the history of linguistic, grammar, and other disciplines of linguistics study. What does grammar consist of and what are the relationship between one and another? How many languages do human beings have the capacity to acquire? What other studies are made in recent centuries? Each of these aspects are clearly described, and other chapters will go into further details. While in this chapter we will provide some less detailed information on the various aspects of linguistics mentioned so far. 1. 1 Defining Linguistics There is nothing that can be said by mathematical symbols and relations which cannot also be said by words. The converse, however, is false. Much that can be and is said by words cannot successfully be put into equations, because it is nonsense. C. Truesdell Linguistics is a study to describe and explain the human faculty of language. There is no doubt that linguistics has changed through human development. 1. 1. 1 History of linguistics. The history of linguistics can be divided into three periods: antiquity, middle ages and modern linguistics. 1. 1. 1. 1 Antiquity Dating back to earlier period of linguistics, linguistics is often associated with a need to disambiguate discourse, especially for ritual texts or in arguments. Ancient Indians made a big contribution to linguistics development. Similarly, ancient Chinese played a key role in improving linguistics development. Around the same time as the Indian developed, ancient Greek philosophers were also debating the nature and origins of language. During this period, syntax and the use of particles developed fast. In addition, scholars proposed that word meanings are derived from sentential usage. 1. 1. 1. 2 Middle Ages In Middle East, in terms of expanding Islam in 8th century, a large number of people learn Arabic. Because of this, the earliest grammar came to being gradually. At the same time, Sibawayh, a famous scholar, wrote a book to distinguish phonetics from phonology. In the 13th century, Europeans introduced the notion of universal grammar. 1. 1. 1. 3 Modern Linguistics Modern linguistics’ beginning can date back to the late 18th century. With time passing by, the study of linguistics contains increasing contents. Meanwhile, it is used in other fields, computer, e. g. , has come to be called computational linguistics. The study of applications (as the recovery of speech ability) is generally known as applied linguistics. But in a narrower sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories of language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second language. Other related branches include anthropological linguistics, neurological linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and computational linguistics. However, linguistics is only a part of a much larger academic discipline, semiotics. It is the scientific study of language. It studies not just one single language of any one society, just like Chinese or French, but the language of all human beings. A linguist, though, does not have to know and use a large number of languages, but to investigate how each language is constructed. In short, linguistics studies the general principles whereupon all human languages are constructed and operated as systems of communication in their societies or communities. 1. 1. 2 An Interesting Comparison Linguistics is a broad field to study, therefore, a linguist sometimes is only able to deal with one aspect of language at a time, and thus various branches arise: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, applied linguistics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, lexicology, lexicography, etymology and so on. Suppose that the study of linguistics can be considered to be a computer, so linguistics is equal to the CPU, which supports all the other parts. Moreover, sound card would stand for phonetics and phonology, and then morphology and semantics are like the memory of the computer. What’s more, syntax plays as an important role to translate single words to a whole sentence which is full of meaning, just like a graphics card, which uses picture to make sense of the idea of memory stick. Finally, everything is ready, it’ s time to use computer and the same goes for language acquisition. Very interestingly, the properties of computer are amazingly similar to human language. from www. iflytek. com/english/Research-Introduction%20to%20TTS. htm Above all, linguistics is concerned with the study of verbal language– particularly speech and written language. What’s more, language is a system and there is a set of options of which one must be chosen depending on the purpose and context. (Marie E. & John P. , 1991, p. 64). 1. 2 The broad study of language Language is a highly complex system of communication, so it sometimes will be called a ‘system of systems’. It is used to construct, exchange, express, and record information and ideas. It performs these functions effectively because it is based upon systems that are understood by those using the language. In this chapter, four topics will be concerned. They are phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. In this section, some overall definitions and interactions among the four parts will be talked about. 1. 2. 1 Phonology In order to assist learners at the early stages of literacy, it is very important to understand the relationship between sounds and letters. The sounds of speech are studied in phonetics and phonology. (Marie E. & John P, 1991) 1. 2. 1. 1 Definitions of phonology and phonetics Phonology is the study of sound systems- the invention of distinctive speech sounds that occurs in a language and the patterns wherein they fall. In other words, we study the abstract side of the sounds of language, a related but different subject that we call phonology (Peter, 2000). In short, it is about patterns and roots. On the other hand, it is more strict linguistics. Phonetics is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound-making, especially sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription. In common, speech sound is used everywhere, and it can be divided into three parts: articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, and acoustic phonetics. 1. 2. 1. 2 The difference between phonology and phonetics It seems that phonology and phonetics are similar. That is why both of them make learners confused. In fact, they have great difference. Phonology pays attention to how speech sounds of a language pattern are put together according to regular rules. On the contrary, phonetics focuses mainly on description of how speech sounds are made. For instance, if someone says â€Å"we should get our two lips close together and then push them open with a strong air†, that means he or she is relevant to phonetics field. Another example is â€Å"no words should begin with the ‘ng’/N/ sound, the sound only occurs at the end of words†, and this concerns phonology area. Plenty of terms are used to describe different patterns of letters and sounds. Some of the common used terms are blend, digraph, schwa, syllable and phonics, which are widely and frequently applied. 1. 2. 2 Morphology Morphology has been regarded as a necessarily â€Å"synchronic discipline†. That means the rules focusing on the study of word structure instead of the development of words (Katamba, 1993, p. 3). It is the basic element used in a language, and the concept of ‘morphemes’ is one of the main aspects in the study of ‘morphology’ (Yule, 2006, p. 66). Basically, it is the branch of linguistics that studies the internal structure of words. In morphology, morphemes are the minimal units that have semantic meaning. It is â€Å"the linguistic term for the most elemental units of grammatical form† (Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams, 2006, p. 77). 1. 2. 2. 1 The classification of morphemes Morphemes are composed of free and bound morphemes. Free morphemes are the morphemes that can â€Å"stand by themselves as single words†, while bound morphemes are those that â€Å"can not normally stand alone†, but that can be attached to affixes (Yule, 2000, p. 75). Free morphemes contain lexical and functional morphemes. The first category, free morphemes, is the set of ordinary nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs which carry the content of the conveyed messages (Yule, 2000, p. 76), and most English words refer to this category. The functional morphemes consist largely of the functional words, including conjunctions, prepositions, articles and pronouns (Yule, 2000). Bound morphemes can also be divided into two categories. They are derivational and inflectional morphemes. Derivational morphemes are those which â€Å"make new words in the language and make words of a different grammatical category from the stem† (Yule, 2000, p. 76), which means that it can change the meaning or the word class, whereas the inflectional morphemes are used to â€Å"indicate aspects of the grammatical function of a word† (Yule, 2000, p. 77). 1. 2. 2. 2 The interaction with other aspects Morphology has interactions with phonology. The selection of the form that manifests given morpheme may be affected by the sounds that realize neighboring morphemes (Katamba, 1993). For example, prefixes and suffixes will normally affect the stress. Meanwhile, there is interaction between morphology and syntax. The form of words may be influenced by the â€Å"syntactic construction in which the word is used† (Katamba, 1993, p. 13). 1. 2. 3 Syntax So far in our study of language, we have made studies of phonetics, phonology and morphology. We have analyzed the structure of sounds and words. Therefore, we have been concentrated on the level of small units of language. After our analysis of words, we move to the consideration of larger structural units of language: phrases and sentences. â€Å"If we concentrate on the structure and ordering of components within a sentence, we are studying what is technically known as the syntax of a language† (Yule, 2000, p. 100). Syntax can be simply defined as the scientific study of sentence structure. According to Geoffrey (2005), syntax is a term used for the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences. The origin of this word is from Greek and it means ‘a setting out together’ or arrangement (Yule, 2000). In the sentence The boy hits the door, we can discover that the words are related to each other in this order that it only has one meaning. If we change the order of the words The door hits the boy, the sentence’s meaning has totally changed and it is nonsense. The reason is that the parts of the sentence are structurally related to each other, and this structure is reflected in the word order. In English, the word order is very necessary and important for the meaning of the sentence according to linguistic rules. In some languages, word order plays a less important role. The meaning of the sentence depends more on the form of the words themselves. In such cases, it is possible for sentences with totally different word order to have the same meaning. English used to be one of these languages. The following examples are taken from Old English: Se cyning metech thone biscop——-The king meets the bishop Thone biscop meteth se cyning——-The king meets the bishop Although the words are arranged differently, they still mean the same. However, nowadays, the word order is very crucial for meaning. As a consequence, there is a great need for us to explore syntax. Some important concepts are included in the study of syntax. 1. 2. 3. 1Complex and compound sentence Three sentence types are basic in the syntax. There are simple sentence, compound sentence and complex sentence. A simple sentence includes one word. However, in some situation, the simple sentence contains two words. A compound sentence contains at least two simple sentences. The sentences are linked with a conjunction. A Complex sentence composes of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause. 1. 2. 3. 2 Syntax Analysis The following example is provided for syntax analysis. The football team won the match last year. S NP VP NP Det N Vt Det N Adv Ext(time) The football team won the match last year. The chart above is called tree diagram. The letters above each indicate: S = sentence, NP = noun phrase, VP = verb phrase, N = noun, V = verb, and so on. The syntacticians use this method to analyze the sentences. 1. 2. 3. 3 Basic Syntactic Structure In English, the structure of sentence depends heavily on word order. The four basic structures are listed as follows: S>NP + Vc + NP ( NP>N, NP >Det + N) S>NP + VP ( NP>N, VP>Vc + Adj) S>NP + VP ( NP>N, VP>V) S>NP + VP (NP>N, VP>Vt + NP, NP>Det + N) 1. 2. 3. 4 Basic Syntactic Generative Process There are four basic syntactic generative processes: substitution, expansion, extension, transformation. Take the following sentence as an example to clarify these three concepts. Ken is a policeman. Substitution: Ken is a policeman. > Tom is a policeman. Expansion: Ken is a policeman. > Ken is a bad policeman. Extension: Ken is a policeman. > Ken is a policeman at that time. Transformation: Ken is a policeman. > Is Ken a policeman? 1. 2. 4 Semantics Semantics, a subfield of linguistics, is the study of literal meaning. â€Å"It is the recent addition to the English language. † (Palmer, 1976, p. 1). According to Matthews (2007), during the early years the study of meaning focused on the lexicon alone. The scope of the study has expended since 1960s to include both semantics and pragmatics (analyzed in 1. 3), which come to the main fields of the study of linguistic meaning(Katamba, 2000& Matthews, 1997). Semantic meaning is fixed and abstract. It can be understood by surface. However, it is de-contextualized. In another word, it is easily subverted by different gestures or intonations. Semnatics interacts with other aspects of linguistics. For example, when synonyms are used, they can be understood, so it fits the rule of syntax. However, synonyms are used to describe something similar. In a sentence, a synonym can be substituted by another synonym. However, the meaning of synonyms speaker or writer determines or predicates have different degrees, which indicates the meaning is actually different (Alan, 2004). Thus, it is the interaction between syntax and semantics. As for the interaction with phonology, the term tonic syllable in phonology has three kinds of functions. The first one is the accentual function, which is to indicate the focus of the information. The second one is the attitudinal function that is to indicate the speaker’s attitude. And the last one is grammatical function. If speakers use these functions, the same sentence will turn out to have various meanings. To conclude, in this section, linguistics is analyzed from the aspects of sounds, word structure, grammatical rules and meaning. Each of them is in charge of a certain system. Thus linguistics can help people to communicate, to express, and to be understood. 1. 3 Other disciplines Apart from the core subparts of linguistics, which we have demonstrated before, for further reading, we introduce some other exciting aspects in the field of linguistics. There are a lot more to discover than those areas. 1. 3. 1 Sociolinguistics People may know something about you through the way you speak, for example, where you come from, where you spend most of your life time, your social identity and so on. Two people growing up in the same geographical area, at the same time, may speak differently owing to a number of social factors (Yule, 2000). Consequently, it’s very important to consider the social aspects of language. It’s because speech is a form of social identity and is used, consciously or unconsciously (Yule, 2000). The study of the social aspect of language is known as sociolinguistic. â€Å"Sociolinguistic is concerned with investigation of the relationship between language and society† (Ronald, 2006, p. 13). It consists of cultural norms, expectations, and context on the way language is used. The first linguists who studied the social aspect of language are Indian and Japanese in the 1930s. Another person called Gauchat who came from Switzerland had a analysis of this in 1900s as well. However, these three people didn’t receive much attention in the West. Until the late 19th century, the study of social aspects of language laid its foundation. Sociolinguistics gradually appeared in the 1960s in the West. Linguistics such as William Labov in the US and Basil Bernstein in the UK first brought out this concept and explored it. (Wikipedia, 2007, para. 1) 1. 3. 2 Neurolinguistics Though the neural structures of most animal species are very distant from man, there are still resemblances between human and animal languages (Marler, 1981; Nottebohm, 1970), since neurons work in both. Human brain contains billions of neural cells, and so far, the exact number of those so-called neurons is still to be defined (Fabbro, 1999, p. 21). These teeny tiny neurons have close link with the production of language. There can be innate or learnt vocal utterances. Oral language can be the innate property of the human brain, written language, however, is an invention of humankind. Dogs can bark, cats can miaow, and man can cry even after the removal of the midbrain, whereas parrots cannot imitate human sounds, and we cannot produce human language (Fabbro, 1999, p. 21). Therefore, the neural center of our brain is playing an irreplaceable role in the production of language. How does the main cerebral structure serve the production of human  vocalizations? The study of neurolinguistic rely on the study of neurology and neurophysiology, and in these fields, all parts of the nervous system, each having different functions in generating language, are discovered. Theories are found based on lots of experiments concerning the removals of different sections of the brain. The destruction of different language areas destroys language distinguishingly. 1. 3. 3 Historical linguistics Historical linguistics definitely is not concerned with the history of linguistics, though historical linguistics has played an important role in the development of linguistics. It is the main kind of linguistics practiced in the 19th century (Campbell, 1998, p. 5). Historical linguistics concerns the investigation and description of how languages change or maintain their structure in the course of time. Language change can be easily proved by documents written in the same language but at different periods of history. The differences of wording and structure of sentences can reflect the historical development of language. From series of datable documents, Lord’s Prayer widely recorded the history of mankind, and different versions help us analyze the language of each period (Bynon, 1978, p.7). Meanwhile we can also discover that certain structure rules are still used in current language. There are some constructs and rule that link the grammars of two different but related languages, which descend from a single original language, sharing a common ancestor. More accurately, historical linguistics deals with the kinds of changes, and the techniques and methods we have use to discover history, rather than the origin of words themselves (Campbell, 1998, p. 5). 1. 3. 4 Anthropological linguistics Anthropological linguistic is the study of relations between language and culture. It is related to human biology, cognition and language. It belongs to the field of linguistic anthropology, which is a branch of anthropology that studies human-beings through the language they use(Wikipedia, 2007, para. 1). Some Linguists who explore theanthropological linguistics consider these topics such as chimpanzee communication, pidgins and creoles, structural linguistics,total languages, whorf hypothesis, etc. 1. 3. 5 Pragmatics According to Kate (2000), pragmatics is one of the two main fields in the study of linguistic meaning. Pragmatics deals with natural language, while language is always used in context for an intended purpose. The listeners must try to grasp the meaning implied, enrich the ideas, and finally make out the opinion that what the speakers meant when talking about a particular expression (Kate, 2000). According to Yule (1996), ‘pragmatics studies the context in which the utterance is produced as well as the intention of language user. ’ That means pragmatic meaning depends on context or situation. Without context, meanings can be vague and may be misunderstood by people. Two of the branches are: speech acts that cover ‘requesting’, ‘commanding’, ‘questioning’ and ‘informing’, and politeness that shows the awareness of another person’s face. In short, sociolinguistics is the analysis of interrelationship of language and society. Neurolinguistics is the study of the brain and how it functions in language. Historical linguistics is the consideration of language change and how different languages are related to each other. Anthropological linguistics is the study of language and culture. There are some other disciplines in linguistics. Pragmatics deals with the speakers’ meaning. The five mentioned above are some main disciplines in linguistics. Different disciplines of linguistics enrich the content of linguistic. The study of linguistics tends to be more and more detailed and completed. 1. 4 Language Acquisition This chapter began with a general introduction to language study. It ends with a consideration of the acquisition of language, containing first, second and foreign language, which is affected by the relationship between teacher and learner. Some experienced educators advise that it is only through learning to speak a language that you can fully analyze it (Everett 2001). ‘Acquisition’ is described as occurring in spontaneous language contexts (Krashen, 1982), is subconscious, and leads to conversational fluency. 1. 4. 1 First language acquisition For a child, learning first language is automatic, not after starting school, not in specific circumstance and not by great efforts (Yule, 2006). It requires only basic physical capability of sending and receiving sounds directly or indirectly, and interaction with others using this language. Children are brought up in particular environments, being affected by different surroundings, especially by those people whom they spend most of their time interacting with. Infants start express themselves through some simple utterance, such as some vowel-like sounds. Children gain increasing abilities at different development stages, from producing single-unit utterance to producing speech by communicating through expressions (Yule, 2006), since they are able to understand what others said. This a big step forward, like quitting toddling and being capable of walking steadily, forwards, or backwards. As children are being increasingly exposed to communication and interaction, their language skills are developing rapidly because of the expansion of vocabulary. They are never forced to speak first language and seldom be corrected by others, but they correct themselves through interactions every day. Then children learn to use verbs in different sentences, and how to use different words to form a sentence (Yule, 2006). They gradually learn to ask questions correctly and how to use the word no in their speeches to express negative meanings. The last stage of first language acquisition is the ability of making meaningful sentence (Yule, 2006). There is massive variation in the rate at which features of one’s first language are acquired. 1. 4. 2 Second language acquisition. Being able to speak first language is one of the basic skills of second language acquisition. Except for the minority of people who are bilingual speakers, most of the learners have no access to a second language until our late childhood. Actually most of the Chinese learners are now learning English as a foreign language, because it is immediately back to Chinese speaking time out of the classroom. But later on they may have the chance of learning it as a foreign language in a native speaking environment, during immersion semesters, when they will acquire this second language in circumstances similar to those of Chinese acquisition. There are obviously differences in foreign language achievement, sometimes related to differences in aptitude (Carroll, 1982), sometimes to affective factors (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), sometimes to learner strategies (Naiman, Frohlicn, Stern & Tedesco, 1978), sometimes to environmental factors such as opportunities for language use or instructional conditions (Long, 1982), and sometimes simply to time (Carroll, 1975). Human beings have the ability to learn more than one language all through one’s live. Farwell (1963) (cited in Taylor, 1976) reports that a British explorer in the 19th century claimed to have spoken more than 40 languages and dialects. Usually, however, after the age of 10, the acquisition of second language is very different from the way one acquired his first language, which is relatively slower and cannot achieve native-like proficiency. 1. 4. 3 Educational factors Most of us begin learning second language in teenage years, spending only few hours on it every day and for most of the daily activities we use our mother tongue. Accordingly, we will encounter lots of difficulties in learning second language without enough exposure to it. Therefore, the largely distinguished part of acquiring first and second language should be language teachers. In order to learn a second language, we must learn from a teacher, or at least follow their guidance. The classroom is a very powerful instrument of instruction and it can control language learning in a very direct way (Richard, T. & Roger,H. ). As language teachers, we should focus on students’ requirements and follow learner-centered approaches. We should impart knowledge in a more practical way so the students can receive easily. Keep the class disciplined and orderly so that students can learn most effectively from the lessons. There are often the situations that the students seldom volunteer answers, and the teacher sometimes has to call on someone and wait for a long time before a response is forthcoming. Why not try breaking away from typical Hong Kong classroom practices in class? Like, students do not have to stand up to greet teachers, and they do not have to raise their hands or stand up when they answer questions. In a relaxed classroom atmosphere, students will feel free to interact. They will not fall silent when the teacher enters the room, then stand up and chant a choral greeting. If the pupils are put in this position in the classroom, they can be more effectively kept in their place in social life. During the class, we teachers should never say like this: I am your teacher. By the authority vested in me I have the right to ask you to behave in a certain way, whether you like it or not. And you, in your role have the obligation to obey (Widdowson, H. G. ). Whereas, we should say that in another way: Do this because I am the teacher and I know what’s best for you, but not ‘Do this because I am telling you and I am the teacher. ‘ This difference has the advantage of largely increasing participation in the use and practice of language. 1. 4. 4 Summary Approaches to the acquisition of language account for different backgrounds of learns’ first language, and different conditions of exposure. In acquiring language, learners often go through transitional stages of development, which is at distinguished rates. References Cruse, A. (2004). Meaning in language : an introduction to semantics and pragmatics. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press. Bynon, T. (1983). Historical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Campbell, L. (1998). Historical Linguistics-An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Dechert, H. W. (1990). Current trends in European second language. Great Britain: WBC Print, Bristol. Fabbro, F. (1999). The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism. Psychology Press Ltd. Fromkin, V. , Rodman, R. , & Hyams, N. (2006). An introduction to language (8th ed. ). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle. Palmer, F. R. (1976). Semantics: a new outline. Cambridge; New York : Cambridge University Press. Geoffrey, F. (2005). Key Concepts In Language And Linguistics. USA: Palgrave Macmillan. Kate, K. (2000). Semantics. Basingstoke, England, Macmillan. Katamba, F. (2006). Morphology. Basingstoke : Macmillan Press. Marie E. & John P. (1991). Language and Learning. Melbourne: Oxford University Press O’ Mally, J. M. , & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge University Press. Matthews, P. H. (1997). Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford. University Press, USA. Peter, R. (2000). English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge University Press. Ronald, W. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. USA: Blackwell Publishing. Widdowson, H. G. (1990). Aspects of Language Teaching. Oxford University Press. Wikepedia: Sociolinguistics (n. d. ). Retrieved 30 October 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sociolinguistics Wikepedia: Anthropological linguistics (n. d. ). Retrieved 30 October 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Anthropological_linguistics Yule, G. (2006). The study of language (3rd ed. ). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.

European Union as an international organization Essay

The European Union cannot be an international organization and it is not a domestic political system. It is a new and unique trend in governance, which transcends the nation – state structure. In the EU the nation – state governments are drifting away from both sub national and supranational systems. This in turn raises questions about the EU’s capacity to govern and its democratic legitimacy. The European Union is composed of democratic nations that aim to achieve peace and prosperity. It is not a nation – state but an international organization with unique features (Europeans united in diversity). However, the events that took place in the period from 1960 to 1970 changed the thinking of federalism by the people. The then French president, Charles de Gaulle was very much interested in nation – state structure in the Europe. However, he rejected the federalist system. Subsequently, the European Council was created in order to take up the matters of the Union with administrative powers. Thus there is no centralized power in the European Union and it was distributed between the primary entities, which do not fall within parliamentary control (Europeans united in diversity). The significant characteristic of the EU is that the decisions taken at the European level are ratified by its Member States in order to establish EU level common institutions, by surrendering their sovereignty on certain specific issues. There is unity in diversity in Europe where there persists a multitude of different traditions and languages. Respecting these shared values, the EU promotes cooperation among the people of Europe and it protects the interests of the individual citizens of Europe. While respecting the sentiments of European citizens, the EU promotes cooperation with external nations without comprising its solidarity and in a spirit of tolerance (Europeans united in diversity). The European Union is a distinct entity. It is not a federation like the United States. Moreover, it is not a simple form of structure as it entails inter – governmental coordination and cooperation. The European Union is composed of a number of Member States. These Member States have combined their individual sovereignty and adopted a system of shared governance, in order to achieve unity and international importance. Nevertheless, as it is noteworthy to mention, these Member States did not relinquish their national sovereignty (McCormick). Further, there is a delegation of powers by the agencies of the European Union, in areas of joint interests, upon which the EU can impose its democratic authority for the benefit of Member States. Thus the European Union is to some extent an intergovernmental organization and to some extent it is a supranational organization. The supranational aspects of the EU include economic policy, social policy, immigration policy and education. The intergovernmental aspects comprises of mutual cooperation between the member states in order to formulate a common foreign policy and security policy (McCormick). The intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations are in general constituted by several states in order to promote voluntary cooperation and coordination amongst them (McCormick). The Member States of such an organization retain their independence and the decisions and agreements taken are not enforceable. The Member States of the European Union do not surrender their sovereignty to it. However, in the supranational organization, Member States are required to surrender their sovereignty in certain key areas to the governing body of the supranational organization (McCormick). Moreover, the Member States are also required to comply with the decisions taken at the supranational level. The Courts would initiate penal actions for violations by the member states. The European Union has both the characteristics of an intergovernmental organization and supranational government. An international organization is an entity which develops voluntary cooperation and coordination among its members (McCormick). Hence the European Union cannot be a truly typical international organization. The normal features and definition of an international organization is narrow in its scope. Therefore, the European Union cannot be compared to an ordinary international organization. The European Union is founded by an international treaty like any other international organization. However, it cannot be construed to be a proper international organization and a very close description is that it is not a state, nor a nation – state; but a characterization of sui generis (Vuorinen). The fundamental characteristic that differentiates the European Union from other international organizations is that it attempts to change the Member States. Integration is the process that brings about the coalescing of state structures. The European Union has several structures combined together some of these structures represent the characteristics of a federal state while other structures resemble an international organization. In the process of evolution, the EU had gone beyond an association of states and became an economic and political union. However, the EU is not a federal state (Vuorinen). The emergence of the European Community was the result of federalist views. Its drafters were of the opinion that federalism would be the solution to the persistent problem of war in Europe. Thus their main objective was to establish a federal state. These efforts resulted in the formulation of the European Coal and Steel Community in the year 1951, which created a common market for the coal and steel industries of that period. The objective of this institution was to combine the important and strategic resources of Europe. Subsequently in 1957 The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community or EEC and the European Atomic Energy Commission or Euratom (Vuorinen). The federalist creation of the Union was based upon the three important pillars of the EU, namely, the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice. These branches of the EU, which do not pertain to any single member state of the Union, aim to promote the common European policy. The federal structure could have operated with a sufficient degree of democracy (Vuorinen). The European Union has been described as an international organization and with the adoption of a constitution it can become a supranational organization in addition to an intergovernmental organization. The Maastricht Treaty of the year 1993 established two types of institutionalized cooperation in the European Community, the Common Foreign and Security Policy or CFSP and cooperation on justice and international issues. Since, the extant system in respect of functioning of the EU involves the surrender of sovereignty by states to the EU in certain areas and the dependence of the member states on intergovernmental cooperation in other areas, it can be describes as a hybrid system (European Union). Issues of international interests of the EU are regulated by the Integration Ministry; some of these issues encompass the cooperation of EU, Nordic legislation and cooperation with the United Nation’s agencies. Extension of such cooperation is frequent to the United Nations Refugee Agency or the UNHCR, the Council of Europe, Intergovernmental Consultations or IGC and the International Organization for Migration or the IOM (The Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs). Furthermore, the Ministry negotiates with many foreign nations on issues relating to repatriation agreements, other forms of practical cooperation as well as mutual exchange of information. The International Division of the Integration Ministry governs international cooperation and participates in meeting and makes the necessary preparations for meetings and discussions that involve other nations. This Division also prepares meetings in Denmark with regard to issues relating to asylum and immigration. It also makes the necessary preparations for EU casework in national procedure (The Ministry of Refugee, Immigration and Integration Affairs). The destruction and loss of a large number of human lives in the Second World War resulted in European integration, which was expected to put a stop to such killing and destruction. In the year 1950, Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister proposed the idea of European integration. The present European Union consists of five institutions with specific goals. These are the European Parliament, which is elected by the citizens of the Member States; the Council of the European Union, which represents the governments of the Member States; the European Commission, which is the executive branch of the EU; the European Court of Justice, which ensures compliance with the EU law by the Member States and the Court of Auditors, which controls and ensures efficient and legal management of the EU budget (The European Union). There are other important agencies, which support these five driving forces of the European Union. They are, the European Economic and Social Committee, which reflects the opinions of the civil society on issues pertaining to economic and social interests; the Committee of the Regions, which is responsible for monetary policies and regulates the euro; the European Ombudsman, which deals with the complaints of individuals in case of breach of law or failure of proper administration by any EU institution or agency and the European Investment Bank, which promotes the objectives of the EU by providing financial support to investment projects. In addition, there are several other institutions to facilitate the smooth functioning of the EU (The European Union). The functionality of the EU is based on the Treaties, which were ratified by the Member States. In the beginning there were only six nations in the EU and these were Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. In 1973 Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom became members of the European Union and subsequently, in 1981 Greece became a member. In the year 1986 Spain and Portugal and in the year 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the European Union. In the year 2004 the largest expansion of the European Union took place with ten new countries being permitted to become members of the European Union (The European Union). In the beginning, much attention was bestowed on providing cooperation in the areas of trade and economy. Subsequently, the EU became the guardian of the Member States and commenced to deal with a wide range of issues pertaining to all aspects of society and humans. The EU protects the rights of individuals, ensures freedom, security and justice, employment, regional development and environmental protection. For more than fifty years the EU has been catering to the needs of its member states in respect of stability, peace and prosperity. It strived hard to enhance the standard of living of its citizens. It created a single European market, launched the euro or the single European currency and fortified the European Union’s stance on the international platform (The European Union). The European Union plays an important role in the field of international trade. It provides advantageous norms for trade to a large number of developing countries. The EU withdraws the preferential business terms from a country that violates these norms, while dealing with any member state of the EU. Moreover, the EU is the largest single donor of humanitarian and development aid in the world. The financial aid supplied by the EU and its member states comprises sixty percent of the total aid to the world. The EU also provides assistance for reconstructing nations ravaged by war and its aid projects are significant in promoting peace among warring nations and in settling disputes. The foreign assistance programs of the EU are remarkable in respect of the benefits offered to refugees of war and famine. Economic integration in the EU has become a role model for many upcoming trade blocs, which have consequently, sought the support of the EU in their financial reforms. Thus, the EU is an economic giant and a superpower. As a matter of fact, the EU influences the economic activities and policies of most nations of the world and plays a key role in the global economy and occupies the first rank in this area (The Rationale for Studying the Outcomes of European Foreign Policy Activity). In the international arena the EU had evolved as a superpower from its very inception. It underwent considerable modifications and later on it expanded itself by establishing common institutions and foreign policy requirements. In 1958, the Rome Treaty founded the European Community and established a legal pedestal on which the EU forged ahead to influence international trade activities, foreign aid programs and diplomatic terms with countries that were not its members. In 1970, the European Political Cooperation was established to facilitate governments to initiate dialogue and promote mutual cooperation with respect to foreign policy matters. In 1987, the Single European Act was developed. In 1993, the EU was institutionalized by the Treaty. The EU is supported by three pillars, the first is the European Community, the second is the New Common Foreign and Security Policy and the third pillar is comprised of by the policies with regard to anticrime and police cooperation (The Rationale for Studying the Outcomes of European Foreign Policy Activity). In 1998, the Treaty of Amsterdam had modified the Treaty of European Union. It brought about High Representation for the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The European Security and Defense Identity was supplanted by the European Security and Defense Policy in 1999. This change facilitated the EU to establish a rapid deployment force to maintain peace in the region. The Common Foreign and Security Policy is a set of objectives, procedures and devices formulated to encourage sophisticated joint actions and positions in foreign policy. The CFSP also formed the link between joint actions and civilian foreign policy of the EC. These developments transformed the EU into an international organization in the areas of commerce, trade, aid and diplomatic relations. Moreover, the European Foreign Policy addresses civilian actions, policies, relations, commitments and choices of the EU in international politics (The Rationale for Studying the Outcomes of European Foreign Policy Activity). The nature of the EFP controls the competence of the organs of the EU, so as to influence matters pertaining to international politics. As an international actor the EU enjoys a special status in international politics. However, there is still some doubt regarding the nature of the EU because it has no polity and because it is not a state or a territory with fixed borders. There are an array of tests that measure the end results of the foreign policy and decision – making power of the EU. However the scope of the CFSP was not utilized to the fullest extent by the EU. The end results achieved through this instrument clearly establish the prominence and effective role of the EU as an international actor in international politics (The Rationale for Studying the Outcomes of European Foreign Policy Activity).

Honolulu International Airport Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Honolulu International Airport - Research Paper Example In 1947 it was renamed as Honolulu international airport. On account of its strategic position in the center of Pacific Ocean, it functioned as a halting station for many flights crossing the ocean which flew from the Asia and Australia to the regions of north and South America. It is publicly owned by the state of Hawaii. With the continuous use of the airport, many developments have taken place in the airport especially after 1950s, in order to cater to the growing needs of air transport and to facilitate the increasing amount of air traffic. In 1965 the original terminal building at the airport was demolished in for the development of the John Rodgers building. The terminal building underwent many expansions and the Diamond Head Concourse was added to it in 1970, the Ewa Concourse in 1972 and the Central Concourse in 1980. The airport covers about 2216 acres of land area and about 2210 acres of water. It has four runways with asphalt or bituminous surface and two runways on water that provide service to the seaplanes for landing and take off. Out of them, two are parallel east-west runways and two crosswind runways. The reef runway (8R/26/L) is entirely constructed offshore on reclaimed land. It has been identified as an alternate landing place for the NASA space shuttles. The airport also shares some of the defense airfield facilities with the Hickam Air Force Base. Currently, the airport provides services to 31 operating airlin... The terminal has facilities for shopping, medical service, business center with conference room, restaurant and hotel. The Wiki Wiki buses run between the terminals for transport on the airfield. Functioning as a hub and spoke airport, it acts a primary hub for international aviations and as a point to point airport for the domestic airways. It is one of the large hub airports of total 29 such hub and spoke airports in the United States. It shares 1.36% of the total passenger traffic out of the total large hubs in the United States with a total number of 84,796 fight departures and commuting a total number of 8,684,893 passengers.1 It also transfers a freight of 199,144.89 tones and 28,931.18 tones of mails in the year of 2000.2 The mode of transportation to and from the airport The airport is connected with freeways to other parts of the island and to other islands via domestic airlines as well as water ways. As of now, in Honolulu, there are no fixed rail mass transit systems. The interstate H-I freeway connects the Honolulu city with the international airport and the same road also connects the Hikam Air Force base with the airport. Nimitz Highway and the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway connect the airport with other parts of the Oahu Island. Many state-authorized and non authorized bus services shuttle between Waikiki, a well known beach resort on Oahu Island, and Honolulu Airport. The buses offer transportation to other hotels in Waikiki from where transportation services are available for other travel destination. The airport is in excellent connection with the Honolulu city with the public transportation service, called 'The Bus'. Buses commute from the place at an interval of 30 minutes to the city area thus providing good amount of connection to the

Management strategies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management strategies - Assignment Example The competitive forces that shape strategies ensure that the strategy stays in power. Competitive forces mold strategies to effectiveness and as such the strategy stays in power. According to Porter (2008), there are five forces that shape strategies. These forces determine the profitability of an industry in the long run by influencing how the economic value it creates is apportioned. These forces are supplier power, buyer power, competitive rivalry, the threat of substitution and the threat of new entry. Supplier power can determine the profitability of a company. Suppliers are the providers of raw materials, labor or other materials used in production. Suppliers have the power to drive up the prices of the inputs used in production. When the suppliers raise the prices of the inputs used in production, the company ends up having high production costs and this, in turn, reduces profit. The fewer the suppliers a company has, the more the power they have on the company and the more th ey determine the profitability of the business. The buyers are the consumers of a company’s product. The buyer has the power to determine the profitability of a company because they influence sales. When the buyers cease from consuming a company’s products sales will be low hence low profits. Buyers also have the power to determine the prices of a product. When a company deals with few powerful buyers, they have the power to dictate various terms of doing business such as the prices of the product.

Leadership Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership Development - Essay Example Companies do have Training and Development programmes for lower level management. There is evidence of Mentoring but when it comes to placing the women at the top side by side with the men there appears to be a lack of confidence. Is it created by men only or are the women responsible for it too? It is firmly believed that Training and Development within a company is important as it Improves individual’s performance and therefore the company as a whole benefits from reduced performance problems and it can motivate the staff so they will be more productive. The question is why it does not translate into more women rising to the top? This is an obvious case of discrimination. But, at whose hand? The men, or the women, or both? 2.1 Development of Source Materials Having raised the above questions, the quest now began for finding materials to find answers. This has been a highly debated question over the past decades and there was ample material about it both in the Library as well as on the World Wide Web. The entire group divided the responsibility amongst themselves the responsibility of finding answers to the above questions. Several models of this process were examined with the help of various journals and writings of eminent personalities to arrive at a consensus of how to find answers to the above questions. The team went through the material meticulously to locate the answers from a maze of diverse views. 2.2 Application of Source Material

Breast Cancer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Breast Cancer - Research Paper Example Morphologically breast cancer is divided into two basic types depending on the anatomic site affected by the tumor cells; Ductal and lobular carcinoma. As the name indicates, the ductal type originates form the ducts or lactiferous tubes of the breast while the lobular carcinoma originates from the stroma or lobules of the breast responsible for lactation. On the basis of penetration through the limiting basement membrane, the breast cancers are divided into two basic subtypes; Invasive and non-invasive. The non-invasive types are classified into two types which include ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) on the basis that tumor cells have not invaded the adjacent tissues (Chen 2010; McPherson et al 2000). The causes or risk factors of breast cancer can be divided into two major categories which are modifiable and non-modifiable. Non-modifiable risk factors are age, geographical variations, family history, menstrual history, associated familial syndromes and genetics. The increase in the age of a woman is also a risk factor for breast cancer. Women who fall between the age group of 40-50 are at the highest risk of getting this malignancy. Moreover, if family history shows positive cases especially in first degree relatives like mother, daughter or sister, then it also increases the chances to develop breast cancer. Breast cancer has been associated with genes which include BRCA1 and BRCA2 which have been linked to the causation of familial breast cancer. These are genes located on chromosome 17 which undergo autosomal dominant mutations and are responsible for 5% to 10% inherited cases of breast cancer. The sporadic breast cancer is considered to be caused by mutations in several tumo r suppressor and oncogenes like p53, c-myc, c-myb and bcl-2. Moreover, the over expression of HER2/neu also has a very strong relation to breast cancer. The age of menarche and menopause also plays an important role in the incidence of breast

Problem Definition Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Problem Definition - Research Paper Example The problem that the paper centers around is gender bias in corporations and the associated problems. (Jennings, 2008; Wines, 2006; Bowie, 2002) Earning profits without maintaining ethics might benefit the organization but the growth is short lived. Investors, employees, customers and interest groups judge whether an action is ethical or non-ethical. (Ferrell, Fraedrich, Ferrell, 2009;  Jones, Parker & Bos 2005) The aspect of gender bias has been taken up in this paper with some small case studies to bring out the exact work environment in the US. The company under study is an orchestra company, which was accused for gender discrimination in employee treatment and work culture in the US music industry.      Our study is based on the US music industry. The bias has been seen in the compositions of western music and in the very management itself. Women working here are hurt badly in the way they are treated or the acknowledgement of their works and achievements. There have been some cases when women have been denied membership or selection in an orchestra position based on their gender. (Takala, 2007) The work atmosphere is such that women are deprived of any equal treatment to that of  men in similar positions. This feeling of exclusion and deprivation affected their performance and their abilities misused. (Takala, 2007). United States in general has an impressive statistics with respect to workingwomen compared to Europe. While Europe has 41% of workingwomen with only 1% making it to the executive boards, US women make more than half of the working force with 10% in the executive boards. Women participation in orchestras has been compared for four countries according to gender. Allmendinger and Hackman report women participation of 36% for US against 30% for UK and 16% for East and West Germany. But the high rates in US did not give the real picture. The survey found that though the number of working women were high in US, most of

Technical entrepreneurs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technical entrepreneurs - Essay Example Rated by Forbes Magazine as the 2005 wealthiest person in the world for the twelfth consecutive year, Bill Gates estimated wealth amounts to $27.38 billion based on Microsoft's current stock price (Marcus, 2006). Bill Gates is the co-founder, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the world's largest software company. He is also the founder of a digital image archiving company that goes by the name of Corbis, which is one of the world's most promising resources of visual information - a broad digital archive of art and photography from public and private collections worldwide. He is one of the best known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution and is widely respected and also widely criticised as having built his business through unfair, illegal, or anti-competitive business practices, and this was recently demonstrated by the US government taking Microsoft to court, an action which was repeated in Europe as well (Didion, 2004). Despite his vast wea lth, Bill Gates has donated approximately 51% of his total fortune to various charitable organisations and scientific research programmes. Bill Gates was born on the 28th of October 1955 in Seattle, Washington to William Gates Senior and Mary Maxwell Gates (McSheriff, 2002). His family was wealthy, and had a strong tradition of education and professionalism. His father was a prominent lawyer, his mother was the first woman regent of the University of Washington and his maternal grandfather was a national bank president (McSheriff, 2002). It is safe to say that Bill Gates came from a privileged background. Bill Gates also has two younger sisters, Kristanne and Libby Gates. Bill Gates was educated at some of the most prestigious schools in the state, and he particularly excelled in elementary school in mathematics and sciences (McSheriff, 2002). Bill Gates went to Seattle's most exclusive preparatory school, Lakeside School where tuition in 1967 was $5 000, more than that at Harvard which was $1 760 (McSheriff, 2002). It was at this school that Bill Gates got introduced to computers as the school rented time on a server, which allowed Bill Gates to pursue an interest in computers at a time when they were not commercially available. He was also a member of the Boy Scouts of America, even attaining the rank of Life Scout during his membership (Peerman, 1999). When he was at high school, he founded a company which sold traffic flow data systems to state governments with Paul Allen. He also helped to create a payroll system in COBOL for a company in Portland, Oregon (Peerman, 1999). In 1973 he enrolled in Harvard University for a pre-law programme where he met his future business partner Steve Ballmer. During his second year, together with Paul Allen and Monte Davidoff, he co-wrote Altair BASIC for the Altair 8800, and dropped out of Harvard during his third year to pursue a career in software development (Murdock, 1998). Despite his success, Bill Gates was briefly jailed in Albuquerque for racing his Porsche 911 in the New Mexico desert. Bill Gates first recognized an opportunity in 1975 after reading an issue of the Popular Electronics that demonstrated the Altair 8800. Bill Gates contacted the creators of the new microcomputer to inform them that he and others had developed a version of the

Education Essay Example for Free

Education Essay An enabling school climate plays an important role in determining the outcome of learning experience for learners, care givers, parents or guardians as well as staff. On the other hand, a school environment that fails to foster proper relationships amongst all stakeholders in a school community can be blamed for poor performance and indiscipline that characterizes schools where there is a negative or unfavorable environment. In deed the school climate goes further than defining the academic performance since the climate in school affects not only the learners’ but also the immediate community, the staff as well as the neighboring community. This paper expounds on the various aspects of the school environment which in turn leads to deterioration of home/school relations or the improvement of the same (Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 35). Although different scholars have advanced different meanings to the term ‘ school climate, many scholars favor the definition which views school environment as the sum total of all factors that, affect the learning process in the school as well as the interrelations amongst different players in the education process. School climate is influenced by a number of factors which include but are not limited to; the physical components of the school such as the type of classrooms and other physical structures in the school compound. For the physical components to constitute part of the school climate, such must have a direct influence on how teachers, staff, learners and parents perceive the school and therefore influences the relations between school and home. Physical facilities are also important in that, they can hinder or enhance the relationships amongst participants in the education process. Physical facilities have been known to influence how learning takes place as less unfavorable physical facilities are less likely to foster a positive learning environment (Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, 76). Indeed, where the physical facilities are not conducive to learning, this can negatively affect student ability to concentrate or even deal a blow to student’s self esteem all of which would in such a case influence the relations between the school and the home. Equally important is the social cultural factors especially those which concern diversity, most schools enroll learners from various socio-cultural background something which results into conflicts if not managed well. Where there are conflicts, it becomes very difficult for positive relations to prosper and again, this has a bearing on the school/home environment. Intolerance based on factors such as race, religion, or ideological beliefs could trigger tensions. Therefore there is a need for proper management of diversity if the school climate is going to positively contribute to positive school/home environment. The staff and even the parents all have a responsibility in creating an organizational culture that exemplifies trust and understanding amongst different stake holders with an aim of ensuring that, all members of the school community are treated equally and with the same dignity. Issues such as the use of Native American mascots during sports and which have spurred mixed reactions must be properly analyzed for their effects on the school/home relations to be understood. Where such are found to contribute in any way to negative school/home relations, there is a need for corrective measures to be taken both at he bottom line and at the decision making level so as to prevent undesirable consequences (McNeely, Nonnemaker, Blum, 67). Where students are treated favorably or discriminately because of socio-cultural background, the end result is a tension filed school/home relations and with such an environment, academic performance becomes very difficult and unrealizable. Social background largely determines the ability of the parents or guardians (home) of the learner to afford education-related services and therefore in cases whereby a school acts unreasonably in charging for education related services, this may be perceived by the parents to mean that, the school does not welcome the affected children to study or seek educational services in the school. Ensuring that, learners are satisfied and feel loved, cared for, appreciated and welcome in school also contributes to enhanced home/school relations (Loukas , Robinson, 194). How learners are treated is likely also to determine the behavior of the parents and guardians back at home as more parents and guardians are more likely to depend on feedback from their children to gauge the school climate. This in turn may influence how the parents and guardians view and relate with the school. Whereby the ‘home-side’ is not pleased with the school conduct in regard to how the latter treats learners, a standoff may result and in such circumstance, the school environment is bound to be unfriendly and un-responsive to the needs of the home. This is more likely to lead to negative school/home relations. Without efforts from both the home and school to make learners satisfied with the system, learners will most likely develop some resentment as they may conclude that, the school climate is not as supportive as they would expect. The teachers have a responsibility to show support to learners and try to align the learning goals to the expectations of the learners especially in regard to mainly the learners achieve and accomplish not only academic goals but also career goals. A positive school climate is important in the creation of working teams in the school. Team spirit is important because a school as a social institution has some common and shared goals and objectives which it must share as a community. Without collaboration and cooperation amongst members of the school community, different members are likely to function as units as opposed to collectively and therefore the chances of failure to attain desired outcomes in terms of improved school climate becomes a reality. What often is forgotten by school administrators is the fact that, learners too have expectations and in any case, needs which they aim to achieve for all their efforts in schools. A common cause of differences and problems is whereby teachers tend to treat learners as though they do not have personal needs and objectives, that is, a motivation to be in school. For a positive school environment to be realized, learners must be treated as an important party and should be accorded the necessary support in order to emerge successful and victorious. Since the main connection between the school and the home is the learner, ignoring the needs and concerns of the learner is tantamount to breaking the link between the home and the school. The school climate can also be attained through the staff and learners encouraging openness and trust building amongst learners and especially in connection with the latter’s behavior and attitudes towards the school. In the case whereby the students are in secondary level, there is usually the factor of their emotional status occasioned by growth and development which influences how the learners view the staff and other members of the school community. As the Center on Families, Communities, Schools, and Childrens Learning, (21) observes, school climate is important in connecting learners activities to school mission, (Felner, Favazza, Shim, Brand, Gu, Shim, 124), adds that, school climate is not easily noticeable as it is usually invisible and only the effects can be recognized. Whenever learners and the rest of the school’s staff demonstrate positive behavior in terms of values, the school climate is said to be enabling and every school community member is able to function normally. Tableman (98) mentions safety as very important in determining the kind of school climate present in any given school. So as to achieve an enabling school climate, there is a need for measures to be put in place in order to ensure that, all precautionary measures are taken in terms of adhering to guidelines stipulated in safety guidelines for schools. Therefore through enhancement of school safety precautions, the school climate is enhanced and this is important in maintaining of good school/home relations. Enhancing the school climate also calls for improved interpersonal relations and as stipulated earlier, there is a need for the school administrators to be well trained in terms of dealing with conflicts and conflict resolution strategies (Comer, Haynes, 87). The administration of schools must rise to a level whereby conflicts are viewed as opportunities to embrace diversity of ideas and opinions and an opportunity to involve everyone in the decision making process. A school which involves both learners and parents in the decision making process is more likely to prosper than a school which leaves the rest of the school community in the dark when making decisions which impact on every stakeholder (Tarter, Sabo, Hoy, 109). Although every member of the school community has a responsibility to ensure success and of a positive school climate, no one is more central to this process than the school administration because they are the policy makers and also play a decisive role in the implementation of policies (Tarter, Sabo, Hoy, 78). Continuous improvement through inititiation of change is very crucial in the realization of a positive school climate. No system is perfect and even for schools with the best structures in place, there are usually challenges and problems which have to be dealt with continually as it is not usually possible to achieve perfect systems over night. Therefore how the organization receives change usually determines the success or failure of the change process. The stakeholders must be able and willing to adapt to various situations so as to allow every one to fit into the system and function in unity. Equally important to the realization of success is the commitment of all in all efforts geared towards an improved school environment. Without dedication and the pooling of resources, the change effort still remains elusive and not easy to achieve. Therefore, schools must nurture all its members so that, the synergetic effect may be realized and an enabling school environment attained. Equally important is the carrying out of a needs assessment which serves to identify barriers to positive school environment as well as the pointing out of areas of concern needing urgent attention. Without proper guidance and leadership from the administration a school climate worthy emulating may be unrealistic, indeed, the leadership offered in any given organization determines the success of the change initiatives and in some cases serves as the selling point of an organization by providing an empowering internal environment. Therefore, the quality and type of leadership may cause either a positive or negative school environment. It is therefore fundamental for the school to offer the best possible leadership as a means of enhancing the school environment (Cohen, 123). Many schools have failed to incorporate scientific methods in resolving some of the challenges they face. In deed, research studies can be used to establish causes of negative school climate for schools facing such challenges but most schools have not gone as far as carrying out research studies pointing out lack of sufficient funds. Therefore there is a need for sensitization of schools on the importance using scientific methods to better understand the school climate. Communication plays an important role in determining the school environment and therefore for any school to realize a desirable school climate, it must demonstrate ability to establish proper communication structures. Most schools have in the past failed by failing to embrace both downward ad upward communications. This amount to failing to appreciate the contribution students can make to creating of an empowering school climate (Freiberg,36). In conclusion, the fact that the students have an important role to play in promoting a positive school culture should trigger the administration to fully involve them in initiation of change by streamlining communication function in the organization. Until then, the school is likely to face problems when it comes to fostering a positive school climate.

Strategies for Family Communication

Strategies for Family Communication INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION Introduction A family is the important structure of any society and happy families can make a happy society. Every human being wants to live in a happy environment as a family is the place where people will find the achievement of their life time. Modern families often face multiple relationship issues which have begun contributed from the changed of lifestyle and poor relationships within the family members. Communication is the key to build a cheerful family. Talking with each other in the family and having frequently family gathering could help in keeping the relationship closer. Even between the couples, talking can release the tensions and promotes the affection closer. Never argue or shout at each other unnecessarily which can make the relationship worse. (ProKerala, 2014) Understanding the function of communication within the family will help us to avoid conflict and maintain good relationship. Certain conflicts could arise when family communication barriers are exists. Individual need of the family members cannot be reached all the time. This means that we have to make some compromises to fulfill the needs of others. Compromising does not mean that we have lost and the others in the family have won, but through this we can create a new solution to harmony. Be a good listener and acknowledging and respecting opinion of the other, could make a difference within the family members. Beth Lee, (2013) Family Tree Family communication My family is an average family in its size. It’s is comprises with my parents, me, my wife and my two daughters. We can define ourselves as an extended family. Both my daughters are grown up now. During their childhood, they grow in the environment where their grandparents are there to teach them the way of life how it is supposed to be in the nature. They taught them the way of respecting elderly people in the family. My relationships with my daughters are just like a friend. They learn through the way how my relationship with my parents. My children’s always like to share things that happened in their school every day. This keeps our relationship even closer compare to any other family that I know off. When the parents are there to listen and understand their needs, the relationship with the children and parents will be greater. My parents passed away 18years ago and it is probably one of the hardest things that I have to tolerate. Keeping myself positive, I can always say that I will be forever thankful to him for giving me the happiest childhood’s days that not many of them can get. My farther is my superhero, my light, and my role model. In my family, I have improvised the family communication compare to my old time. It is no longer parents and children relationship. We try to be their friends and share their problems with us. This is best way to keep them together and prevent them from getting wrong advice from their friends which can lead them to a wrong direction. Communication in the family is very important to determine how the relationship is going to be between the family members. Growing children requires more attention and proper guidance. We could manage the obstacles ahead by keeping calm and discuss with them on the problem and provide possible solution to solve them. Children nowadays would like make their own decision compare with like old days where parents decide for them. As a parent, we should be able to provide multiple solutions and help them on decision making which is good for them. We also should explain the consequences of making wrong decisions to them. The challenges that all parents may face is to make them convince on the suggestion that they give. The best way is to use live examples from similar cases which can relate to the situation. This only can be done when we can have proper communication link with them. Most of our children are facing many challenges in their schools. It may come from their friends, teaches or from their studies itself. They might not understand the subject they study or it is very challenging to them. We as parents should always keep an eye on them and communicate with them whenever we see their body language is changes. Help them to find other resources to help them to understand the problem that they are facing. It is again comes back to the communication factor. If we are not able to communicate with the children well, than we could not find out the problems and the solutions as well. A family communication process derived from the interactive relationship and interdependence among the family members. This is a hardest process and it has been practicing from the day one. In the family communication concept, there are several important things that we have to observe to establish a happy family. As quoted by Little John (1983), â€Å"there is no such thing as an ideal family in this world†. It is only a communication process in the family which determine the results of both happy and sad experience in their family. Communication happens when the family members are willing to interact and share their feeling with the family members. Normally a healthy family will attempt to maintain the closeness and handle any conflict in the family. Immaterial of being any form of a family, communication plays an important role in determining the quality of the life in this world. Ways to bridge generation gap among family members Generation gap between the family members is the major problem that is hard to digest. It is very difficult to compare with those people growing up in 1960’s with the one in this latest generation. The cultures that the parents practiced during old days are no longer applicable and not practical for this generation. Our children’s clothes are too weird and their music is too loud and although they are speaking English, we simply cant understand a word what they speak. We might be on the wrong side of a generation gap. Cross the distance by remembering how much the children wanted to be understood by their parents when they were grown up. Normally it no a requirement to like or even understand what’s happening surrounding but our children tastes it. Communicating regularly with our children is one of the best ways to bridge the generation gap, as coated by the â€Å"American Psychological Association†. Listening and talking are essential elements to build good relationship between parents and children’s. As parents, we have to show our children that their interests are ours although the age gap between us too far. When a kid is growing into a teenager, the communication might become difficult for the parents to understand. To keep the discussion open, parents must pay close attention to our children’s habits. If our child tends to be quiet around the house during the week due to long days stress with school, homework and extracurricular activities, do not push the issue. We have to make a note to them when the children are more open and feeling relax, like in the car, at the dinner table or on weekends. Make a point to them that we are always available to talk and discuss with no subject is off limits. When our children’s do come to us, we should not quickly agree with what they are saying instead we have to listen more than speak. Get to understand first what they are pointing out to make analyse before give comments. If we want to keep closer the gap between our children and us, we have to learn to speak their language that they speak. Keep up with the current trends that define our children’s generation from the slang they use, music, movies, the electronic tools and clothes to social networking and current events. It’s very important that we become adept in today’s technology, so we can monitor our children’s online presence and help them to make wise choices on the internet and beyond. Although we might feel like our critical years was not passed long time ago, it’s important to accept that times has been changed. It is not appropriate to compare our old time with current generation. We should not pressure our children to follow the old models of thinking and being it. Stop saying things like â€Å"when I was your age,† â€Å"This is not the way how used to do it† or â€Å"I just don’t understand these kids today.† It’s not a battle. It is about our family. The past was not proven to be better. It was just different. We have to accept the things as the way it is and try to understand the changes rather than comparing the current days to our passed years. Parents interested in bridging the generation gap required to be more opened and adjusted. The parents have to be flexible in their ideas and actions to keep up with their children’s immediate changes of current development. If we restrict ourselves â€Å"This is who I’m, and this is how I’m going to be† then the gap between the parents and children will only expand as they grows older. We have to keep in mind that parenting is not an exact science. What worked with one child might not work with another one. We must be willing to adjust our parenting style to suit our children’s needs. (Oubria Tronshaw, 2014) Once parents understand what children are communicating through their behaviour, they can respond better. When the children feel respected and have their needs are met, reason for using challenging action to communicate is no longer required. Shouting or punishing a child for curtain behaviour may be able to restrict only for a particular moment, but it does not provide alternative ways for a child to act in difficult situations. When adults use punishment, which not allowed in current generation, they are sending wrong signal that anger is a good way to solve problems. When parents are able to help their children find an alternative way to communicate their needs, they will learn important of social and problem-solving skills that will help them throughout their life. (PBS Parents, 2013) Family Anecdotes Anecdote 1 During last December school break, the whole family of mine gone for a tour at Langkawi, Kedah. We had a nice tour during day time and late in the night we planned to go for a movie that just released on the cinema. Although we are tired, we just cannot reject my children’s request because that is the best way to understand our children and get them closer becoming their friend. In past days, the parents were totally reluctant to go for movies with their children fearing of coming across an embarrassing scene in front of the child, and now they are not just breaking that idea, but also going out to enjoy movies together. This explains that the recent movies, we go together with our family. â€Å"The secret life of Walter Mitty† it is about to see the world, things dangerous to come, to see behind walls, draw closer to find each other and to feel. The story is about a day-dreamer escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with bravery, ro mance and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, he takes action in the real world start on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined. Whatever they are shown through these movies is part of the society, and tomorrow when our kids will grow up and goes to work; they might have to face all that, so why should we not take this as an opportunity to explain things to them. After this movie we had a chat together and discussing about the moral of the story that the day dreaming is only an imagination and will not help in shaping their real life. Our children were enjoyed the moment and they appreciate that we are able share exchange opinion and moments are brought our relationship even closer. It was a turning point for our children that we can never forget. Anecdote 2 There was a time during childhood; I together with my father and brothers’ used go for fishing at the lake nearby our house. A day before we have to prepare the bait needed for the fishing trip. We will dig out the worms from the soil to use as bait to catch the small fishes. The small fishes become bait for bigger fishes. My brothers will take me to the location by riding bicycles. Once we reach there, my brothers will explain the strategies for the fishing. Every one of us is thought of the sign language so we don’t make much noise which can scare the fishes off. We will than assigned at specific area and start our adventure. It is great joy when we together fish around the lake and catching a lot fishes to bring back home. The more fish we get, the more excitement we get to go forward. We will take a break to refresh ourselves and enjoy the food that we brought together. The feeling is like we are having a family camping at outdoor. It is very much different exciteme nt compare to what we are doing now that is routine work and study. Once it gets darker, we will bring back the catches to home and my sisters will clean them up and my mum cooks them for dinner. Everyone in the family will enjoy our mums fish curry cooking and the remaining fishes will be kept for the following days. It is not all about the fishing day out, but the enjoyment in our communication between brothers, sisters and parents for the whole day that we can never forget. These moments cannot be erased from our memory and we still questioning ourselves why this day cannot be the same as old days. Vision of ideal family Every family have their own ups and downs and has its share of arguments and regrets. But this does not mean our family should be at very smooth way of life. It’s always a choice for how a family should be. In my opinion, an ideal family should able give self-respect one to others in the family. This is very important because every individual have their own interest and opinions. Miss understanding between husband and wife should be avoided at the first place. This is the main factor that most of the family have resulted to conflict and impact on their children’s. If this can be avoided, the next challenge is the growing children’s. I always would like be father who wanted to understand my wife and children’s problem and needs and fulfil their expectation as much I could within my capacity. The conflict always arises when the family members fail to communicate with each other and everyone has their own ego. I would like create an environment where my family members would like to come back home early wherever they go. For example, although my daughters are growing and extended their studies in university, I wish them to comes back home whenever they have their semester break. I’m also intended if I could get the family together even my daughters are married. I wish to create an environment where the family members are always wanted to return home when they feels to do so. I’m already started the footsteps that can be seen by my children to participate in any family gatherings whenever possible with my parent in law’s which make them happy in their old age. I hope my children’s also can do the same in future when we are getting old and not left lonely anymore. 2790 Words References Beth Lee/LIVESTRONG.COM. (2013). What Is Family Communication?. Retrieved Feb 14,2014, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/144390-what-is-family-communication/ Oubria Tronshaw/ GlobalPost. (2014). What Can Be Done to Bridge the Generation Gap Between Parents and Children?. Retrieved Feb 15,2014, from http://everydaylife. globalpost. com/can-done-bridge-generation-gap-between-parents-children-18716.html ProKerala.com. (2014). Tips on making your family a happy family. Retrieved Feb 14, 2014, from http://www.prokerala.com/relationships/family/happy-family-tips.php PBS Parents. (2013). Five Facts Every Family Should Know. Retrieved Feb 15,2014, from http://www.pbs.org/parents/inclusivecommunities/challenging_behavior2.html

Handling the Issues of Rage and Murder in Poetry :: Education for Leisure The Hitcher Poems Essays

Handling the Issues of Rage and Murder in Poetry The two poems I am going to analyse are 'Education for Leisure' by Carol Ann Duffy and ' The Hitcher. These poems both have potentially dangerous speakers. The first line of 'Education for leisure' contains murderous feeling, this grabs the reader and submerses them into the poem. "Today I am going to kill something. Anything" The poet uses direct and powerful words, by using the word 'something' instead of 'someone' the poet makes it unclear what the speaker wants to kill. In 'Education for Leisure' the speaker thinks that his readiness to kill makes him somehow smarter then anyone else. This is shown when the speaker says; "I am a genius..." The speaker seems to kill for killing sake. This sadism is shown in line five when the speaker says; I squash a fly against the window with my thumb. We did that at school. Shakespeare." This can be interpreted in two ways, one way is that killing and Shakespeare can be associated with boredom. The other way is a line from 'King Lear' By William Shakespeare "As flies to wanton boys are we to the gods; They kill us for their sport." (4.1.57-58) Carol Ann Duffy uses this a another way of symbolising the speakers delusional view that he is a God. The poet reinforces the point that the speaker is delusional when he says; "The cat avoids me. The cat Knows I am a genius, and has hidden itself." The speaker thinks here that the cat thinks he is a God and has hidden out of fear, he thinks the whole planet revolves around himself. The speaker also thinks he is famous. " I dial the radio and tell the man he's talking to a superstar. He cuts me off." By now the speaker is probably getting very frustrated, he then takes a drastic step. "I get our bread-knife and go out. The pavements glitter suddenly. I touch your arm." By saying 'your arm' instead of 'someone's arm' Carol Ann Duffy brings the reader into the poem by making the point that people like the speaker do exist and this sort of thing could happen. The speaker in 'The Hitcher' is observably feeling very depressed. "I'd been tired under the weather," The speaker is presumably mentally ill, he picks up a hitcher "...in Leeds" One difference 'The Hitcher' has to 'Education for Leisure' is that in 'The hitcher' we know someone is killed. "I let him have it on the top road out of Harrogate - once with the head, then six times with the krooklok in the face..." even though we're not directly told that the hitcher is dead it's