Project Management for Family Day Essay

Company ABC is a small company consist of 100 employees in total. To facilitate bonding between the employees and their family and enhance relationships between co-workers, company ABC will make a family day that will be held in Chinese Garden on 1st of July 2013. In this family day, employees and their family will participate in some activities that has been arranged by company. Project Scope Statement Project Objective The objective from these activities are happy employees with stronger relationship between each other. It also expected to give a new positive atmosphere in the workplace. To achieve it, there are some activities that will be done. Those activities will be divided into teenage-adults, family and kids. Employees and their family can freely choose which stand they want to attend. All the activities’s equipment must be readily available at least 3 days before the due day, which is on 28th of June. The ingredients for cooking competition and souvenir (goodie bag) must be stored one day before the due day, 30th of June. The food for consumption must be ordered one week before due date, so does the transportation. Booking location must be done at least one month before due day. Assume that each employees has 4 family members, there will be 400 people, more or less. Cost for family’s activities $1000. On kids zone, the cost will be $850. On consumption and souvenir is $1000 and for transportation’s budget is $1500, last but not least the venue’s cost will be $900. Deliverables As mention before, all the activities are divided into three groups. The first group (teenage-adult)’s activities, consist of airsoft gun, baseball, and volleyball. In the family section there will be cooking competition and on kid’s zone the activities are making handicraft, painting and playing percussion music. Milestones Sending the invitation to all employees – 15th of May book the place – 1st of June rent the airsoft gun place – 15th of June book the food – 24th of June book the transportation – 24th of June rent cooking equipment – 24th of June rent the percussion instrument – 24th of June buy baseball and volleyball equipment – 28th of June buy the handicraft and painting equipment – 29th of June buy ingredient for cooking – 30th of June prepare the place – 30th of June Technical Requirements Airsoft gun area can fit 20 person in each game (around 30 minutes), every person will be provided with a body protector, helmet and a gun. Baseball game will have two teams with 9 member (around 2 families) each, each game will be provided 3 balls, 1 bat and 8 gloves. For volleyball, it can fit 12 persons that divided into 2 teams in each game, on this game will be provided by 2 volleyballs and 1 net. Cooking competition equipment 1 small stove, 2 knifes, 2 bowls, 1 cutting board, 1 frying pan, 3 plates and the salad ingredients will be provided. One for each family, there will be 10 family competing on this competition. Kid’s zone activities, handicarft’s stuff, scissor, glue, coloured plastic, origami, and wire are provided. On painting section, brush, canvas, and paint will be given to each kids. Lastly, percussion instrument will be provided. Limits and Exclusions Employees need to bring their own cap, change of clothes and apron. Those things are not provided by committee. Reviews with Customer For this family day, we have four sponsors. Faber castel for painting equipments, SBS transit for shuttle bus, DBS, and Yamaha for percussion instruments. Project Priorities On this project, to save the company’s budget, cost will be the most constraint matter. If this activities exceed the budget too much, it may not be approved by the superior/ director. The performance of family day can be enhanced. Committee will give their best effort to make the activities becomes spectacular, but as long as the employees and their family enjoy this activities, it will be good enough. Because, the main purpose of these activities is strengthen the bonding of each other. Time for this family day can be accepted if there is a change, because the member for this activities is still inside the company, so, the schedule can be changed easily. Although, it’s still inappropriate if the committee change the date too often. Work Breakdown Structure Cost Estimation In this project, there will be two types of cost-estimation, weekly cost-estimation and milestones cost-estimation. The budget will be counted from 15th of May all the way to 1st of July. It covers entertainment, venue, kid’s zone, consumption, souvenir and reward cost. Some of the cost are covered by sponsors, and the rest of them will be taken from cash of company ABC.

Introduction to Marketing

PrimaryQuestionnaires: Questionnaires consist of a list of questions that can be used to obtain feedback such as a spoc which is used at colleges to find out information such as if a student is enjoying their course etc. The Oldham College recently gave all of the students a spoc which was to get their feedback about the college for e.g. if they feel safe and satisfied by their course. By doing a spoc the college is able to find out how many students are satisfied with their course, tutors and so on; this helps the college as they can use their research to see who’s happy and who isn’t, thereon they are able to make changes if necessary for their market plan.Suggestion box: A suggestion box is a box that is used for people to put suggestions inside, this is a good way for a college to get and consider suggestions as people may want to make their suggestions anonymously. The Oldham College students are able to make suggestions to the college through their suggestion box; if the majority of the students make the same suggestion then the college could consider making changes in their marketing plan.Student reps: The students union of The Oldham College are able to talk with each other and hear out the students suggestions, ideas and any complaints there may be; therefore they are there to put forth suggestions or complaints on behalf of the students, if the college feels that the suggestions made are necessary or that it may be of benefit they could consider making changes to their marketing plan to satisfy their students.SecondaryGov stats: Government statistics are official data collected from colleges, schools etc. which is released to the public; a person can then see which college has better success rates and how many people join them and so on. When government statistics are released showing the achievements and how  many students are joining the different colleges such as their competitor’s, this helps The Oldham College to evaluate t heir different aspects; this allows them to take good measures.Newspapers: Newspapers are a good way of collecting data, such as how colleges advertise their courses to the public; when competitors advertise courses in the newspapers and/or magazines The Oldham College is able to see what kind of courses they advertise and how; for e.g. if it’s plain text or images and so on. This gives them an idea of what courses are mainly being advertised and will help their marketing plan as they can do the same or do it and improve their advertising compared to their competitors.Competitor’s website: A competitors website can be looked at by its rival such as The Oldham College as they can see their competitor’s website to gather data from them such as what courses they offer and how they advertise their courses through their website; this helps The Oldham College’s marketing plan as they are able to see if there is any way they can improve their way of advertising and even their website with the aim of attracting new students to the college, this would be done through making changes to their existing marketing plan. Introduction to Marketing What is marketing? Marketing is the function that connects businesses to their target audiences’ needs. It is how a business presents and distributes their product to their audience. For example, a business can market their product by advertising it to the public. This can be seen in many forms of media; such as: on television, via web, posters or on billboards.Marketing is the management procedure in which the product or service is moves from concept to the customer. It includes the co-ordination of the 4 P’s of marketing: product, price, placement and promotion. [tutor2u.net]The concepts of marketing Production The production concept is when businesses are more focused on making profit from their sales; the quality isn’t necessarily important as the company’s main concern is making sales. For instance, supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco distribute their own products to the public. The production of products is also kept at a low cost.Produ ct The product concept is when businesses focuses more on the quality of the product rather than how many of them are being sold. The business is more concerned with the high standards of the product set by customers and is prioritised. For example, smartphones have become more popular within society because of their many features.Selling The selling concept is when businesses are concerned with promoting a product even further to increase sales. For example, Coca-Cola advertises the same products over and over again; they introduced names to target people with that certain name.Marketing The marketing concept is when a business allows their customers to decide on the features of their product or service, before it is created. A business would use market research and use research & development to discover the customers’ needs and wants for a product/service.Aims and objectives of two contrasting businesses Private sector business: Apple Inc. Apple’s objectives are to c ontinuously sell the same products that are of high standards and quality.Market leadership in Apple Market leadership is when a business has the most customers/users due to their sales or service. Steve Jobs suggested these techniques to assist in becoming a market leader Be in possession of and have control over the relevant technology Take in and implement better technologies immediately as soon as they have availability, regardless of whether or not there are organisations using them beforehand Create new technologies/products before anyone else and make it an industry standardBrand awareness in Apple Apple raises brand awareness by creating adverts and allowing their stocks to be released online. This can be effective because potential customers will know whether not to purchase a product based on the stocks.Perceptions of customers in Apple Customers of Apple are aware of the product by seeing advertisement and by live streaming press conferences that are held by Apple. The ef fectiveness of live press conferences is that the potential customers will know what features the product has.Public sector business: National Health Service (NHS) Their aims are to aid people who are applicable to use their service. They are non-profit and are Governmental, which means that the Government funds the NHS by using a portion tax-payers’ money.Market leadership in the NHS The National Health Service is the only health service that is free in the country. This makes it the market leader.Awareness in the NHS One way in which the NHS raises awareness is by endorsements from the news or magazines. This can be effective because the news is something the majority of the public intakes.Perceptions of users in the NHS Users of the NHS become aware of this industry via real-life happenings. Some of these perceptions can be negative; as recently, a celebrity received a free surgery which wasn’t life threatening in any way. It wasted tax-payers’ money and the majority of the nation was unimpressed by this.

Littlefield Simulation Essay

Littlefield Technologies (LT) is a producer of newly developed Digital Satellite System (DSS) receivers. One contingency LT relies heavily on is their promise to ship a receiver with 24 hours of receiving the order. If they are late to this, the customer will receive a rebate based on the delay. As the simulation ran for 268 days there were various methods and decisions we made in the process. We knew in the initial months, demand was expected to grow at a linear rate, with stabilization in about five months (~180 days). After this, demand was said to be declined at a linear rate (remaining 88 days). Even with random orders here and there, demand followed the trends that were given. Future demand for forecast was based on the information given. We looked at the first 50 days of raw data and made a linear regression with assumed values. Those values were calculated using a moving average model. Below is a plot of the data over the 268-day period, which shows the patterns stated above. The main concern for LT management was the capacity in order to respond to the demand. If there was insufficient capacity LT would not be able to fulfill given lead times and would have to turn away orders. In order for capacity to be maximized, our group would ideally have had to have machines run at maximum utilization. Looking at the first 50 days of data we were able to see where more machines were needed in order to produce that 24-hour turnaround time. The original setup included one board stuffing machine (station 1), one tester (station 2) and one tuning machine (station 3). The way testing was scheduled was First-In-First-Out (FIFO). In our simulation, we were able to control the amount of machines and the way testing was scheduled in order to maximize the factory’s overall cash position. Below is a graph showing the utilization of the machines at station 1. Based on graph we were instantly able to see that at station 1 there was a massive bottleneck because utilization was over 100%. This made us decide to purchase an additional 3 machines to help reduce that. As shown, utilization was brought down and become helpful during the five-month demand hike. The mistake our group made was not selling off the machines when we noticed that the demand dropped. It is evident that during the last 88 days, the machines at station 1 were heavily underutilized. The purchasing decision was based off assumptions. We knew that demand would rise for another 130 days (since the simulation already ran for 50 days), so we decided to buy at day 51. We added three machines to station 1 and one machine to stations 2 and 3. Another key thing we changed instantly was the queue sequencing. We sold a total of one machine from station 1. The decision was based upon our demand. We saw demand decrease dramatically, which led to us selling the machine. Although it was made late, and we should have sold two machines from station 1 at day 180, we were keeping one in case demand suddenly changed. With these changes and decisions, our team (team 8) was able to be very successful. We presented growth within our company and increased capacity by adding and subtracting machines and changing the queue sequencing. We ended with more capital than we began with and finished third overall in the standings, as shown below.

English class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

English class - Essay Example Underage drinking in fact contributes to 17.5 % of total alcohol sales. As youths are not allowed to possess alcohol, they consume it in unsupervised spaces such as house parties which are the hotspots of binge drinking and drug abuse. Lowering the age allows them to drink alcohol in regulated and safe environment. Other issue is the underreporting of alcohol related accidents due to fear of legal consequences which lead to death in many cases. Proper medical care can be provided in accidents if the action is not illegal and is reported promptly. Proponents of the move also claim that if the drinking age is lowered, it will no longer be a taboo which will make young people less prone to take up drinking as an act of rebellion. Excessive drinking can be controlled if moderated drinking is made part of the culture and not banned. One of the very important reasons the age should be lowered is the lax administration of law. Police personnel have a lot more pressing cases to handle rather than to chase youth below 21 who are drinking. As the law cannot be enforced effectively, it needs to be altered. The most pressing concern in lowering the drinking age is drunk driving. More than 11000 people died in 2010 due to drunken driving. Research also shows that incidents of drunken driving are more common in youth below 25 years of age and reduces with the increase in age. If the drinking age was lowered to 18, more young people would get behind the wheel drunk leading to a spike in the number of deaths. The nation cannot be responsible for this catastrophe and thus drinking age should not be lowered. Binge drinking is a common phenomenon in US colleges. Youth regularly have bets with each other to see who can drink the maximum. This leads to alcohol poisoning and causes death in many cases. Lowering the drinking age will invite more cases of binge drinking which is

Community and its nature Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Community and its nature - Assignment Example Community and its nature There are numerous forms of communities on the planet and each of them nurture their own beliefs and concepts and identify their uniqueness against other .But a community is a not that appears on surface and has a darker side to it many overlook often times.The cultural differences and hostilities towards other culture is a common practice in many countries and less has been done to abolish this social evil. There is a considerable amount of conflicts in and between the communities which only has lead to fragmentation that unity among people. The real purpose of community and social grouping is to ensure peace rather than rubbing against to spark violence and clashes. Social exclusion and oppression in community Social exclusion is a concept which relates to a disadvantage of a society where in communities or social groups are alienated or isolated. Social exclusion and oppression can arise due to income inequality, occupation and difference in racial background. The social exclusion is a concept visibly connected widely with various kinds of social and economical problems. According to this concept certain groups or communities are considered inferior or underprivileged due to their social circumstance and racial background or poverty. As per the reading, community is the breeding ground for discrimination, social inequalities and social taboos. The very core nature of community is to create borders, limitation and restriction among people to breed animosity, condemn and conspiracy. According to reading, the communities are always afraid of its security and regard other communities as alien beings. In this attempt to secure themselves and their social belongings they consider other people around them as aliens, intruders or strangers. The author contemplates that violence is not originated without any valid reason but is the residue of the alienated attitude nurtured by the rich and wealth class of the society. The minority of people who are poor class are lea st powerful in the society are symbolized as violent groups. This lack of power and wealth in many sectors of society give way to the up rise of social inequality oppression and segmentation among people. The author points out that if a society is scrutinized thoroughly one can find a presence of division and conflict within and outside of it. However, the society projects a warm outlook which displays nothing but peace, love and harmony. Here the author enquires about the social interaction between the men and women and that attachment arises out it which gives a qualitative shape to the social scenario. It is also been mentioned that historical circumstances play a significant role in formulating social consequences which other wise intended. The Historical circumstances here can be referred to the history of certain country or geographical boundary which gives a certain identity or cultural foundation to people. This cultural identity or foundation can persuade group of people to differentiate themselves from the people of other geographical areas by forming practice and cultural beliefs. Social formation got initiated with the consistent practices of certain culture and historical practices. Social formation is a complex phenomenon and history and cultural beli

An Investigation of Career Barriers for Female Television News Anchor Dissertation - 2

An Investigation of Career Barriers for Female Television News Anchor in Nigeria - Dissertation Example Nigerian Female TV Anchor-persons 13 2.2. Barriers for Electronic Media Women 14 2.2.1. Cultural Bias 14 2.2.2. Gender Role Conflict 14 2.2.3. Physical Appearance 15 2.2.4. Ageism 15 2.2.5. Sexual Harassment 16 2.3. Theories of Social Stereotyping 16 CHAPTER III 19 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19 3.1. Research Design 19 3.2. Data Collection Procedure 20 3.2.1. Interview 20 3.2.2. Questionnaire 21 3.3. Sampling Technique 22 3.3.1. Sampling for the Interview 22 3.3.2. Sampling for the Questionnaire 23 3.4. Ethical Considerations 23 3.5. Validity of the Data 24 3.6. Reliability of the Data 24 3.7. Approach to Data Presentation and Analysis 24 3.8. Limitations of the Study 25 CHAPTER IV 26 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS 26 4.1. Interviews 26 4.2. Questionnaires 27 4.2.1. Question 1 27 4.2.2. Question 2 28 4.2.3. Question 3 30 4.2.4. Question 4 31 4.2.5. Question 5 32 4.2.6. Question 6 32 4.2.7. Question 7 33 4.2.8. Question 8 35 4.2.9. Question 9 36 4.2.10. Question 10 37 CHAPTER V 39 CONCLUSION 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX B 45 List of Tables Table 4.2.1 Responses to Professional Women 28 Table 4.2.2 Realization of the Productive Role of Women 29 Table 4.2.3 Conservativeness of the Role of Women as a Maid 30 Table 4.2.4 Suitability of Media for Females 31 Table 4.2.5 Suitability of News Anchor-ship for Females 32 Table 4.2.6 Acceptance of Media Women by the Society 33 Table 4.2.7 Influence of Ageism on Female Media Career 34 Table 4.2.8 Matrimonial Opportunities for media Women 35 Table 4.2.9 Possibility of Substitution of Female Newscasters by Males 35 Table 4.2.10 Permission to Adopt TV Profession 36 List of Illustrations Figure 4.1 Categorization of Female Interviewees 26 Figure 4.2.1 Responses to Professional Women 28 Figure 4.2.2 Realization of the Productive Role of Women 29 Figure 4.2.3 Conservativeness of the Role of Women as a Maid 30 Figure 4.2.4 Suitability of Media for Females 31 Figure 4.2.5 Suitability of News Anchor-ship for Females 32 Figure 4.2.6 Acceptance of Media Women by the Society 33 Figure 4.2.7 Influence of Ageism on Female Media Career 34 Figure 4.2.8 Matrimonial Opportunities for media Women 35 Figure 4.2.9 Possibility of Substitution of Female Newscasters by Males 36 Figure 4.2.10 Permission to Adopt TV Profession 37 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Women have always been suppressed and exploited in this world. Though this tendency has lessened to a greater degree in some of the developed countries, yet the condition in the under developed and developing countries have never changed. The societies, where men are domineering, condemn women as weak and a mere ‘bit of fluff’. To them, the place of a woman is within the four boundaries of a house where she is to serve male in various ways: mother, wife, sister, daughter, maid, etc. whatever the role is assigned to her, she is under the dominant male who is her lord and master. The condition in Nigeria is not much different. Though the doors of progress and technology have bee n opened to them, yet there are still so many hindrances which are blocking the women’s ways to independent success. This paper aims at exploration of such certain social, physical and suppressing factors which are deterring the female in Nigeria from progressing as T.V. news-casters. The paper also focuses at discovering the barriers in professional/career development of female news anchors that are already in the television news industry. 1.1. Background The Federal Republic of Nigeria is

The Good, the Bad and the Legal Issues of Training Security Personnel Research Paper

The Good, the Bad and the Legal Issues of Training Security Personnel - Research Paper Example The security market is among the swiftest developing sectors in North America, as private policing looks forward to more and more public part. In accordance to Figures Canada survey, there are many more Security personnel employed in Canada these days as compared to police officers (Kent & Jacobs, 2004). Personal Security workers outnumbered police officers in both 1991 and 1996. In 1996, there have been 59,090 police officers when compared with 82,010 personal security staff: 12,230 personal investigators and 69,780 security guards (Jones & Newburn, 1995). Lawbreaker exercise is not reducing in rate of recurrence. Police organizations are anticipated to carry out a lot more with fewer sources. The broadening disparity between police service and need needs to be crammed with something, and dependent on the encounters of the last couple of years in America, most likely it will likely be made up by personal policing. Though it may be unsure that a security guard will ever be called on to replicate the substantial responsibilities of law enforcement executive, one might visualize private security dealing with amplified duties under the supervision and tutelage of the law enforcement officials. As an example, Regina Police Service has identified the benefit of an immediate interaction with the personal security field, and taken on considerable actions to synchronize with that industry via its Collaborating Policing program (Johnston & Shearing, 2002). Private security: Personal security differs from public security in a number of important ways. Private security is supplied to customers for a charge, and besides in particular situations, has its jurisdiction confined to the property possessed by the consumer. Instead of support supplied in the pursuits of the public, safety is supplied to guard the interests of the client. Customarily, regulation in Canada has acknowledged these contrasts and has not expanded the

Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in Service Industries Case Study

Activity-Based Costing (ABC) in Service Industries - Case Study Example Most of the companies always have the door to door service after purchasing a product from their organization. This is always a relief of the transportation issue as some commodities are always bulky and difficult to transport. The online shopping is always time convenient and a customer can get a good or service at any time he or she orders as the organizations always operate in 24 hours (Anderson & Young, 2001). Another important factor that consumers always like in the e-commerce organizations or rather the online shopping is due to the fact that there are always a variety of commodities and services at different prices thus every customer will always get an opportunity of selecting what he or she desires at a price affordable to the consumer. The BlueFly incorporation is one of the top online businesses in the United States of America. It is known for its great sales of designer shoes and accessories for both men and women within the United State and internationally (Innes & Mitchell, 2010). It is widely known for its best services thus it always sells greatly across all nations. The Company experiences high sales since it offers its customers with a perfect and superior shopping experience by providing value and a high level of customer service that creates loyalty in the customers. The BlueFly incorporation is always using one of the modern technologies available thus it has developed electronic commerce innovations such as personalization of shopping services and the browse and search features are easy to use making even the illiterate customers able to use. Doing shopping at the BlueFly incorporation is always absolutely fast and safe as there are systems of simple procedures, the credit transactions are very secure plus a convenient communication of customers through their e-mail addresses and the shipping of bulky goods is also done directly without any inconveniences

Analyse a company and introduce a new product Essay

Analyse a company and introduce a new product - Essay Example The external environmental factors or the macro factors include uncontrollable factors such as the Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors (Porter, 2008, p.221). Ford should pay close attention to these factors while formulating business in domestic as well as foreign countries. The company is likely to adopt focused target marketing strategy by targeting the 21-50 age group people having middle to income living in the urban cities. Introduction A marketing plan is a significant part of an overall business plan. A well structured marketing strategy is the base of a well-written marketing plan (Westwood, 2002, p.3). A marketing plan includes a list of several actions. Without a sound strategic establishment marketing plan is ineffective. A good marketing plan is important in business as it helps to control the overall business and helps the business to steer towards profit. The purpose of a marketing plan is to set the direction for a business in or der to promote it. Moreover, a well-written marketing plan helps to build a customer base and determine opportunities in order to make profit (Csb, 2011, p.63). Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker headquartered in Dearborn. The organization was founded in the year 1903. The organization used to sell commercial vehicles and automobiles under the brand name of Ford and luxury cars under the brand name Lincoln. Employee strength of this organization is more than 164,000. The aim and objective of Ford motor company is to sell automobiles and make the customers satisfied. Moreover, they tend to make profit for all the stakeholders. Therefore, they can provide jobs for thousands of workers. Qualified and standard young and middle aged people are the significant eligible customers of Ford motor company. It is world’s third largest automobile company operating in US, Europe and the countries of Asia Pacific. Mission Statement Mission statement of a company conta ins the aims and value of an organization. The mission statement of Ford Motor Company is that the organization is a global and diverse family with a pompous heritage. The organization has passionately committed to offering outstanding goods and services (Ford, 2013, p.1). Financial Statement A financial statement is a recognized record of financial activities of a business. For an organization or business enterprise, all the appropriate financial information is used to present in a structured formulation in order to make people easily understand are called as financial statement (Palepu, 2007, p.6). A financial statement offers different kind of financial information to the investors and creditors. It helps them to evaluate the financial stability and performance of an organization. Ford Motor Company has reported a pre-tax profit of 1.7 billion US dollar in 2012. In 2012 the sales of Ford Motor Company went up by 7% comparing to the year 2011. Total 1.14 million vehicles have been sold. The US sales number in 2012 was 2,250,165 (Finance, 2013, p.1). The Financial Statement for Ford Motor Company in the year 2012 has been highlighted below. Income Statement (Finance, 2013,

America’s Foreign Policy Essay Example for Free

America’s Foreign Policy Essay Since the end of the Cold War, the relationship between the U.S. government and the media has become increasingly significant. Coupled with the number of humanitarian interventions during the 1990’s, it begs the question, how far is the media responsible for the creation of U.S. foreign policy? Somalia, a nation wracked by civil war and famine, stirred the United Nations particularly the U.S. into action, but how far was the media responsible? It is argued that the CNN effect played a substantial role in U. S. foreign policy, as it was displaying graphic images and news stories of the crisis to the U.S. public, creating uproar over the situation, and a demand to ‘do something now’. Combined with the media’s ability to frame the news into a positive or negative light, this demonstrates the power the media has over public opinion. This in turn created pressure on the policy-makers of the U.S. and the United Nations to act, which is demonstrated in Operation Continue Hope, and UNOSOM (United Nations Operation in Somalia)I and II. However, it is also argued that the collapse of the USSR, and the attempt to create a New World Order was a deciding factor in the U.S.’s foreign policy. Without the constraints of competing ideologies and the USSR in the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. wanted to develop a world foreign policy based upon cooperation, economic development and humanitarian intervention for those in need. With the U.S. as the remaining great Superpower, it was considered their duty to take the lead and show the world how it is done – hence the foreign policy concerning Somalia. It is in my judgment that the media played a substantial part in affecting U.S. foreign policy, due to the effect it had upon the U.S. citizens, and their outcry for immediate action. However, the media is not solely responsible for the actions of the U.S., as other factors like the New World Order played its part too, which I shall demonstrate throughout this essay. The previous government, the Somali Democratic Republic, under the leadership of Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, posed the question of who would succeed the ailing leader, who had been seriously injured in a car accident. This, and the lessening of its strategic importance in the final years of the Cold War, and the reduction of Soviet support, opened up in Somalia an opportunity for rebellion. The government was becoming increasingly totalitarian, performing human atrocities against resistance movements who wanted freedom from the military dictatorship. This eventually led to the outbreak of civil war, the toppling of Barre’s regime, and a power vacuum, with various warlords vying for control. When increasing reports of human atrocities, and starving citizens reached the international community, with food prices rising by 800-1200%, President Bush, and the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution in December 1992, to deploy peacekeeping forces, and huma nitarian relief to Somalia, aimed at stabilizing the situation, with ‘all necessary means to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid in accordance to Chapter VII of the United Nations charter. The U.S. led United Nation forces initially met with success in providing aid to the nation, however, in 1995; United Nations peacekeepers were forced to withdraw after public opinion turned as a result of significant peacekeeper casualties, and its failure to capture General Mohamed Farah Aidid, the major warlord figure in the country. I shall now argue how the media held great responsibility for the U.S.’s foreign policy in Somalia during the 1990’s, due to the CNN effect. Since the end of the Cold War, the increasing willingness of Western governments to intervene militarily during humanitarian crises, coupled with significant levels of Western media attention to the consequences of ‘distant’ civil wars, raised substantive questions regarding the media-state relationship. Western media has enjoyed greater amounts of freedom since the toppling of the USSR, and the rise of U.S. hegemony, resulting in greater access to ‘on-scene’ news articles, and the ability to show them to the rest of the world. Coupled with the development of the internet in the 1990’s, CNN and other media stations are able to bring images and information to the public 24 hours a day. This is demonstrated when the initial U.S. marines who landed on the beaches of Mogadishu, were greeted by a swarm of American journalists and star correspondents, who had been given advance notice of the landing. With the ability to control what information is shown to their audiences, the media has a certain amount of control over public opinion, which in turn has an effect upon the government who represents them. For example, the U.S. government was already aware of the situation in Somalia before CNN shared the story, and yet was not compelled to intervene. However, once the stor y became public, the U.S., and the United Nations received a vast amount of pressure to acknowledge the situation, and act accordingly. This is known as a ‘strong CNN effect’, the ability of the media to steer the policy makers in the direction the media wants by influencing which images are shown to the public. By 1992, Somalia had become a non-functioning state. Its government and related services collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis had died, and estimated 1.5million Somali people were in imminent danger of starvation, and another 3.5million to a lesser extent. All these images were shown by media stations like CNN to the world, capturing the sense of despair and devastation, and energising a ‘must do something now feeling’, resulting in President George H. W. Bush to take the lead in the United Nations mission to prevent this humanitarian crisis. This demonstrates how the media had become greatly influential in U.S. politics, and why it holds a substantial amount of responsibility for the U.S. foreign policy in the initial invasion. Furthermore, just as the media had substantial influence on the U.S. entering Somalia in 1992, the media used this same influence to bring about the end of the humanitarian mission in 1995. In March 1993, the U.S. pushed for a more direct role in combating the various warlords in Somalia and protecting the citizens the United Nations mission had saved from starvation. This was approved by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 794, authorising the use of ‘all necessary means to establish as soon as possible a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia’. This was met with support from the U.S. public, as during the early media reports of the intervention, words that were supportive and emphatic were used twice as many times as words which were critical and distancing. This use of positive framing and optimistic language built a support for the intervention. Initially, the U.S. led forces were successful, capturing high-ranking members of Aidi d’s government, and preventing the massacre of Somali citizens. However, on the 3rd October, the U.S. attempted to capture two high-profile lieutenants of Aidid in the city of Mogadishu, when two Black Hawk Helicopters were shot down by the Somali militia. The following rescue attempt turned what should have been an hour’s operation into an overnight standoff in the city. The battle resulted in 18 U.S. deaths, 80 wounded, and 1 helicopter pilot captured. This became known as The Battle of Mogadishu. In the wake of the battle, the media had access to images of the dead and battered American servicemen, and the victorious Somali forces parading the captured U.S. helicopter pilot Corporal William Durant through the streets of Mogadishu. Shockingly they also dragged the naked corpse of a U.S. soldier past a mob of Somali citizens who vented their anger by spitting on, stoning and kicking the body, in the full view of the cameras. In light of this news, the media changed the framing of the Somali crisis, and began to challenge the government, h ighlighting the casualty ratings the U.S. forces were sustaining. While the public had strongly supported the former President Bush’s decision to send U.S. troops to Somalia to stop the starvation, support had now almost vanished. On Capitol Hill, mounting calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops rose to a level that newly elected President Clinton could not ignore, and announced the exit of U.S. troops by March 1994. Through the use of a ‘strong CNN effect’, the media completely turned U.S. public opinion on the Somali intervention. The starving Somali citizens, who had been the victims at the start of the intervention, had become the victimisers, who had attacked foreign soldiers who were trying to help them. The public opinion might not have deteriorated quite so substantially, if the images accompanying the story had not been present, or if the media hadn’t worded their stories quite so negatively. After all, hearing about the deaths is one thing, to see it before your eyes is quite another. This therefore, demonstrates how the media, through the use of strong CNN effect, were able to steer public opinion into entering Somalia, and out of Somalia when the situation deteriorated. Although the media holds the majority of responsibility for the U.S.’s foreign policy in Somalia, Presidents Bush and Clinton’s drive to create a New World Order also holds partially responsibility. In the wake of the Cold War, President George H. W. Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev tried to define this new era, and the great spirit of power cooperation they hoped to see. This is highlighted in a speech by Bush, in which he indicated ‘America and the world must defend common vital interests, support the rule of law and stand up to aggression’. With this new drive to create a better world, one with cooperation between major powers, rebuilding the world and projecting a new world with greater prospects for a new millennium. Therefore, when humanitarian crises like Somalia arose, President Bush saw it as U.S.’s duty as the richest and most powerful nation in the world, to lead the international mission to save these civilians from starvation. It was hoped, that along with saving those in need, the U.S. could inspire the rest of the world to share this image of a New World Order, and help build a better tomorrow. However, since the U.S. knew about Somalia before the media published the story, it doesn’t suggest that the New World Order was the major factor in deciding to intervene in the crisis. In conclusion, the media was greatly responsible for the U.S. foreign policy in Somalia, and was, in my judgment, the main factor which decided the issue initially to intervene in Somalia, and then to exit. Firstly, through the use of a strong CNN effect, the media framed the issue, and showed images to the public in order to create uproar amongst the population. This was done in order to manipulate the policy-makers into examining the situation, and ultimately become involved. This is demonstrated by the images of starving civilians, and the chaos the various warlords and clans were creating throughout the nation. These tactics would develop a ‘do something now’ feeling. Moreover, the media was also the leading factor in the U.S. exiting from Somalia, because the media station had changed the framing of the stories to negative and critical challenges of the governments mission in Somalia. This combined with the images of The Battle of Mogadishu, and the victimisation the U.S. soldiers had suffered, dramatically changed public opinion against the U.S. foreign policy in Somalia. However, the media was not the only factor in deciding U.S. foreign policy. President Bush’s idea of a New World Order, one based on the ideas of superpower cooperation, economic prosperity and humanitarian intervention also played a part in why President Bush would send U.S. soldiers to Somalia. It was considered the U.S.’s duty to help those in need, with the hope that their example could also inspire the rest of the world to accept the New Order, and help create a new and better world, rather than the conflict and tensions which had been experienced during the Cold War. However, the New World Order arguments are not as convincing as those for the conclusive influence of the media, as the U.S. government was already of aware of the situation in Somalia before the media developed the story, suggesting that it was the public outcry that decided the issue for the U.S.’s policy makers. Which is why, it is in my judgment that the media holds the majority of the responsibility for America’s foreign policy in Somalia during the 1990’s. Bibliography: 1. Taisier Ali and Robert Matthews, Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolutions, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Canada, 1999, p.p.183 2. Ekaterina Balabanova, Media, Wars and Politics: Comparing the Incomparable in Western and Eastern Europe, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, 2007, p.p. 8 3. Arthur Banks Thomas Muller and William Overstreet, Political Handbook of the World 2008, CQ Press Publishers, Alexandria/US, 2008, p.p. 1198 4. George H.W. Bush, Address before a joint session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit, 9:09p.m. in the House Chamber at the Capitol, 1900 5. Jocelyn Coulon, translated by Phyllis Arnoff and Howard Scott, Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping and the New World Order, Les Casques Bleus Publishers, Canada, 1994 p.p. 78 6. Nina Fitzgerald, Somalia: Issues, History and Bibliography, Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York, 2002, p.p. 26 7. George Kohn, Dictionaries of War, Facts on File Publishers Inc., New York, 2007, p.p. 511 8. Piers Robinson, Operation Restore Hope and the Illusion of a News Driven Media Intervention, Political Studies 49, 2001, p.p. 941-956 9. Piers Robinson, The CNN Effect: The myth of news, foreign policy and intervention, Routledge Publishers, London, 2002, p.p. 1 10. Ken Rutherford, Humanitarianism under Fire: The US and UN intervention in Somalia, Kumarain Press Publishers, Sterling, 2008, p.p. Preface xv 11. James Scott, After the End: Making U.S. foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World, Duke University Press, North Carolina, 1999, p.p. 330 12. Richard Stewart, The United States Army in Somalia 1992-1994, Dept. of the Army Publishers, 2003 p.p. 23 13. Warren Strobel, Late-Breaking Foreign Policy: The News Media’s influence on Peace Operations, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, 1997, p.p. 167 14. United Nations Security Council, Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/ 15. Thomas Weiss and Don Hubert, The Responsibility to Protect: Research, Bibliography, Background: Supplementary Volume to the report of the international commission on intervention and state sovereignty, International Development Research Centre Publishers, Ottawa, 2002, p.p. 96 [ 1 ]. Arthur Banks Thomas Muller and William Overstreet, Political Handbook of the World 2008, CQ Press Publishers, Alexandria/US, 2008, p.p. 1198 [ 2 ]. Nina Fitzgerald, Somalia: Issues, History and Bibliography, Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York, 2002, p.p. 26 [ 3 ]. Taisier Ali and Robert Matthews, Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolutions, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Canada, 1999, p.p.183 [ 4 ]. United Nations Security Council, Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/ [ 5 ]. George Kohn, Dictionaries of War, Facts on File Publishers Inc., New York, 2007, p.p. 511 [ 6 ]. Piers Robinson, The CNN Effect: The myth of news, foreign policy and intervention, Routledge Publishers, London, 2002, p.p. 1 [ 7 ]. Jocelyn Coulon, translated by Phyllis Arnoff and Howard Scott, Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping and the New World Order, Les Casques Bleus Publishers, Canada, 1994 p.p. 78 [ 8 ]. Ekaterina Balabanova, Media, Wars and Politics: Comparing the Incomparable in Western and Eastern Europe, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, 2007, p.p. 8 [ 9 ]. Ken Rutherford, Humanitarianism under Fire: The US and UN intervention in Somalia, Kumarain Press Publishers, Sterling, 2008, p.p. Preface xv [ 10 ]. Thomas Weiss and Don Hubert, The Responsibility to Protect: Research, Bibliography, Background: Supplementary Volume to the report of the international commission on intervention and state sovereignty, International Development Research Centre Publishers, Ottawa, 2002, p.p. 96 [ 11 ]. Piers Robinson, Operation Restore Hope and the Illusion of a News Dr iven Media Intervention, Political Studies 49, 2001, p.p. 941-956 [ 12 ]. Richard Stewart, The United States Army in Somalia 1992-1994, Dept. of the Army Publishers, 2003 p.p. 23 [ 13 ]. James Scott, After the End: Making U.S. foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World, Duke University Press, North Carolina, 1999, p.p. 330 [ 14 ]. Warren Strobel, Late-Breaking Foreign Policy: The News Media’s influence on Peace Operations, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, 1997, p.p. 167 [ 15 ]. George H.W. Bush, Address before a joint session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit, 9:09p.m. in the House Chamber at the Capitol, 1900

Holistic View Of The Bilingual Person English Language Essay

Holistic View Of The Bilingual Person English Language Essay The term bilingual in the psycholinguistic literature does not only apply to people who speak two languages equally well because they were exposed constantly to two different languages maybe due to their parents two different native languages. However Bilingualism refers to the regular use of two (or more) languages, and bilinguals are those people who need and use two (or more) languages in their everyday lives. (Grosjean, 1992, pp. 51). This represents a holistic view of the bilingual person as a competent and complete communicator, on the other hand though a bilingual person is surely not the result of the sum of two monolinguals. As early as 1968, Macnamara, Krauthammer and Bolgar wrote: Within certain limits à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, all bilinguals manage to keep their languages distinct and can switch from one to the other. It follows that to some extent bilinguals experience their languages as psychologically distinct systems, and that they have some device to control which one is used at any particular time. However, fluent bilinguals are capable of switching between their two languages, when for example a third person who can speak only one of the two languages is pulled in a conversation or when the topic of the discussion strongly asks for the use of both languages at the same time. To clarify this point, consider this situation described by Judith Kroll You are sitting at a cafà © or at the airport when you overhear a conversation in English that suddenly switches to another language and then back to English. If you are a monolingual speaker of English, you may notice the mixture of languages without realizing that you have listened to an impressive cognitive accomplishment by the speaker. This exceptional achievement is instead a rather common feature of bilinguals language use in which words of two languages mix together in a coherent and meaningful conversation .. In this sense, a bilingual changes the linguistic form, without alterating the substantial meaning byusing a word which may address the sense of a discourse in a better or stronger way like choosing between synonyms with the same language (Sridhar Sridhar, 1980). Yet when the same bilinguals speak to a monolingual they rarely use or switch to an alternative language in order to prevent the monoli ngual speaker from not understanding. These different circumstances and a variety of other situation where this capability arises leads to question of how the information to be processed or expressed is bound to the activation or articulation of a corresponding word or phrase in the appropriate language. On one hand, for a person repeatedly coping with language switches within the conversation, these apparently strange words come unexpectedly and may perhaps be more difficult to process than their within-language counterparts. On the other hand for a bilingual who has to choose in which language to speak, the process of finding the right word in the right context, which French and Jacquet (2004) refer to as lexical access may result extremely complex , as in addition to the activation of words in one language other than the target, other parole (words) in the other language might be active as well.,. Thus, the simultaneous activation of the two lexico-semantic represenations of a bilingual might address different answers paralleled with the specific processing modality, word recognition or production, driven by the context. In word recognition, language membership is passively conveyed to a person by the orthographical or phonological characteristics of the word (). However, in word production, the speaker actively and intentionally decides which language to use. Therefore, the speaker can exert some control on lexical forms and choose the target which best fits the communicative context among a set of activated representations. We do not claim that the mechanisms and neural dynamics recruited for lexical access are necessarily different in recognition and production, but rather that the processes involved in each may be at least partially different. The aim of this project will be first to trace the effects of a language switch on models of both language production and language comprehension and second to identify the neural correlates of language switching and the impact a switch may have on the cognitive processes which rule lexical access in order to produce or recognize a word. Bilingualism and language comprehension Language comprehension has been investigated in bilingual populations mainly through tasks in which bilinguals are substantially asked to respond to written words in one or both of their languages. In such visual word identification tasks, the language switch is driven by the upcoming stimuli in input, while the output is executed by button press driven by a binary decision. A large number of studies have addressed bilinguals performance in comprehension tasks through both within-language and cross-language tasks such as lexical decision (e.g., Dijkstra, Van Jaarsveld Ten Brinke, 1998; Dijkstra, Grainger, Van Heuven, 1999; von Studnitz Green, 2002), language decision, and categorisation tasks (e.g., Dufour Kroll, 1995; Grainger Frenck-Mestre, 1998). Initial studies revealed, for example, that when bilinguals were asked to read language-mixed passages, their performance suffered compared to reading single-language passages (Macnamara Kushnir, 1971). In lexical decision, responses to words where a switch in language occurs were slower than those to a trial nested in a sequence of words from same language s (Thomas Allport, 1995; Von Studnitz Green, 1997). Ability to recognize words in one language seems to be influenced by the language memebership of the word immediately preceding (the basic language priming effect) (Grainger Beauvillain, 1988; Grainger ORegan, 1992) even in lists of unrelated words. Fluent bilinguals seem to comfortably manage whichever language they are requested to use, however in all of the contexts mentioned just above a language switch during comprehension hurts their performance. This evidence suggests that even when bilinguals read (e.g., Dijkstra, 2005) or hear (e.g., Marian Spivey, 2003) one langua ge alone, both languages are still active. Thus, a crucial point here is to establish if and to what extent the other language is still there when bilinguals use one language alone. One way of testing this hypotheisis is to isolate ambiguous features of the bilinguals two languages , meaning to use words that partially overlap or are totally shared in both languages. When two languages share the same alphabet, we may find words called cognates that look or sound the same and mean the same thing as well. For example, In French and Italian, the words balla and balle are almost spelled identically and have the same meaning and. If bilinguals are really capable of shutting down one language and dress as monolinguals, then performance on these special words (cognates) should not differ from that on distinctive and unambiguous words. If the other language results not to be in standby but always on, then bilinguals should perform differently from monolinguals which in a lexical decision ta sk will need to match the target with only one possible candidate instead of two A cognate benefit on performance has been demonstrated across a variety of tasks (De Groot and Poot, 1997; Van Hell De Groot, 1998a; Van Hell and Dijkstra, 2002;), providing substantial evidence that cognates are represented or processed differently from non-cognate translation equivalent words in the second language. Cognates and non-cognates also show different priming effects: in one of the earliest explorations of the effects of cognates, De Groot and Nas (1991) found cross-language repetition priming for both cognates and non-cognates, but associative priming only for cognates. Given such evidence they reached three conclusions: (1) the representations of both cognate and non-cognate translations at the lexical level of representation are connected; (2) cognate translations share a representation at the conceptual level while (3) non-cognate translation equivalents are represented in separate conc ept nodes. De Groot and colleagues model of cognate representation has continued to develop, but it remains firmly based on the principle that cognates representations in the two languages are shared, or overlapping, more than those of non-cognates. In terms of distributed representations, Van Hell and De Groot (1998) describe the notion of overlap as the patterns of activation for a cognate word and its translation being similar to one another, whereas the patterns of activation for a non-cognate word and its translation may have very little in common. The more features are shared between words, the smaller the lexical distance between their corresponding patterns of activation. In addition, the cognate effect was found not to be restricted only to conditions where stimuli are presented in written form. Costa, Caramazza, and Sebastià ¡n-Gallà ©s (2000), for example, found that bilinguals named pictures with cognate names more quickly than pictures with non-cognate names, while monolinguals showed no difference on the same set of pictures. This confirms that the cognate benefit is not solely due to orthographic overlap in the presented stimuli. Many studies have took advantage of these special properties of cognate words in order to determine how this linguistic ambiguity impacts on bilinguals ability to understand these words in only one of their two languages. Evidence stemming from all these studies strongly supports the idea that the language not in use may be in a sort of sleeping mode and anyway exerts an influence on the bilinguals lexico-semantic system even when a task tunes it to the other language. When cross-language form and meaning converge, bilingual performance is typically facilitated; when cross-language form and meaning conflict, bilingual performance is often hindered, in that it is slower and more likely to be error prone (Dijkstra, 2005). These cross-language effects will likely occur especially in the case of a second less dominant language given that most of time both languages will never be equally strong. Furthermore in conditions where a change in language occurs, the cross-linguistic influence of one language on the other will directly affect the processing of words in either one of the two languages. However it is a point of some controversy in the literature whether the costs associated with switching between languages might be somehow modulated by language specific or ambiguous cues. The Bilingual Interactive Activation model (BIA) and language switching Dijkstra and van Heuven (1998) have proposed a model for word recognition in bilinguals (BIA, the Bilingual Interactive Activation model) in which they try to account for the interaction between active word candidates in both languages. Novel to the BIA model is the use of language nodes. When the BIA model encounters a string of letters, the specific visual features of each at a particular letter position excite letters in the system with corresponding features while different letters are inhibited . Activation in turn from letters is driven to words in both languages where each letter figures in the determined position, while all other words are inhibited. At the word level, language membership will not affect inhibition as all words inhibit each other. Activation thriving from word nodes in the same language is carried on to the corresponding language nodes which store activation from words with a specific language tag, and in turn spread, through a feedback mechanism, inhibition to all word nodes in the other language. Furthermore, these language nodes can be pre-activated reflecting a particular task and this device allows the asymmetric inhibition of words in the two languages; word forms in L1, for instance, can be more inhibited than word forms in L2. The effects of language switching can be explained in this framework through a mechanism which allows lexical activation to flow from one trial over to the next. The BIA hypothesizes that activation of a specific language node paralleled with the presentation of a word in that particular language will not completely decay and fall beneath threshold, therefore when the next item comes up in the other language the corresponding word unit will be partially inhibited. According to this model any cost relative to switching will fall close to zero if the input carries orthographic features unique to a language. Only one or a few word units in that particular language will be active and any advantage or disadvant age held by similar cross-linguistic representations (i.e. as in the case of cognates) of the previous trial will fade out. This model shows that language switching may be a function of the task situation, the nature of stimulus material, as well as the expertise of the bilingual. Figure 1. The Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA) model for bilingual word recognition. Arrowheads indicate excitatory connections; black filled circles indicate inhibitory connections. (Dijkstra van Heuven, 1998) 4.4 The effects of context information and the BIA+ Model Language is a single word, however in its everyday use it implies the use of a set of multiple words to express meaning. It is possible therefore that evidence for cross-language activity stems from the decontextualized nature of word recognition tasks commonly employed to investigate the bilinguals two languages. In the context of a conversation or while we read a passage in one language rather than the other cues which shift the balance of activity in favour of the intended language should be conveyed to a mechanism which could virtually switch off the other language. This indeed does not seem to be the case as recent evidence from a number of studies suggest that contextual cues per se are not able to turn completely down the activity of the language not in use. On one hand we would have intuitively predicted that the frame provided by a stringent linguistic context should reduce the number of viable language interpretations. On the other hand, these findings justify the ease of language switching and the relatively low cost it entails in terms of processing resources (e.g., Moreno, Federmeier, Kutas, 2002). However, a point of some controversy remains and namely the relationship between the word identification system and the linguistic context (as a sentence) or the non-linguistic context information determined in an experimental framework by the task demands (i.e. the participants expectations determined by the instructions). One option is that after the initial stages of lexical processing, information of both types (linguistic and context) may exert an influence on the activation level of forms in the target and non-target language. For instance, context information could inhibit lexical candidates or lemmas in the irrelevant language (BIA model by Dijkstra et al., 1998; IC model by Green, 1986, 1998) or just modulate of the activation level of lexical candidates in each language (Grosjean, 1997). A second option is that non-linguistic context information does not directly influence the activity in the identification system itself, but affects decision criteria only.. The BIA+ model postulates the existence of two distinct systems: a word identification system and a task/decision system. Linguistic information conveyed by a sequence of words in in a sentence context may modulate the word identification system, while non-linguistic context information (e.g., participants expectations and strategies) affects parameter settings in the task/decision system.. However, the model clearly states that the task/decision system and sources of non-linguistic information do not affect the lexical activation levels within the word identification system itself. Therefore while performing in a task (such as lexical decision) an early preconscious, automatic level of processing thriving from activity within the word identification system may be followed by an attention-sensitive level in which lexical forms are selected through a task/decision system with reference to different contextual factors and bound to a specific response relevant to the task at hand (cf. Altenberg and C airns, 1983, p. 187; Dupoux and Mehler, 1992; Balota, Paul and Spieler, 1999). The task schema, which is set up during the practice set or retrieved from memory, designates the algorithm which selects the cognitive processing steps necessary to perform the specific task (Green, 1986, 1998; Norman and Shallice, 1986). The decision mechanism is incorporated in the task schema and monitors continuously the activation level of candidates in the identification system by weighting the different levels of activation of targets with respect to each other within the identification system in order to arrive at an output in terms of response. The decision relies upon a lexical selection mechanism, which triggers depending on the breaking of an activation threshold for a lexical candidate. In other words, the identification and task/decision systems, though interconnected, may be partially independent. The two systems use their own criteria for action triggering (i.e., lexical selection and res ponse selection/execution). The identification system is assumed to recognize a word and is able to select a single lexical candidate with a good degree of certainty) when the system reaches a fair stability. The task/decision system triggers a response when its own criteria are met, some of which ruled by lexical activation, while others driven by a tendency towards optimization in terms of how activated and selected representations in the identification system are linked to possible responses. For instance, in lexical decision the input letter string conveys activity to orthographic, semantic and phonological codes, all of which could allow a discrimination of word and non-word input. However, when participants are asked to make a language decision in the sense to press one button if a presented item belongs to one language (e.g., English) and another button if it belongs to another language (e.g., Dutch) only those codes which facilitate the retrieval of language membership infor mation (language tags) are able to address a correct response. Thus, different schemas underlie different tasks, although one task may obey to different schemas. The schema might capture and use information from different sources in parallel, but presently available evidence suggests that orthographic representations play a major role (Pexman and Lupker, 2001). A number of recent experiments have addressed the predictions stemming from the BIA+ model by asking whether the parallel activity of the two languages can be reduced or eliminated when language ambiguous words that produce cross-language effects out of context, are placed in sentence context (e.g., Elston-Gà ¼ttler, Gunter, Kotz, 2005; Schwartz Kroll, 2006;Van Hell,1998). Schwartz, Kroll, and Diaz (2007) showed that when bilinguals are asked to name a cognate like radio in isolation, they are faster relative to controls if there is both orthographical and phonological overlap across the two languages. However, when they read highly constrained sentences the processing advantage for cognates disappeared while in sentences with a lower closure probability, an advantage for cognates remained, suggesting that knowing the language in which you are reading does not switch off the unintended language. This last assumption leads to the question of whether the decision criteria in a language switching task is affected when cognates are involved considering that the activation threshold for lexical candidates will be broken not as quickly. According to the BIA+ model, the similarity of the input word to the internal lexical representations establishes their activation level. Therefore the larger the overlap between the input string and a representation in the mental lexicon, the more the internal representation is activated. In the case of two languages with alphabetical writing systems, the number of activated orthographic candidates is determined by factors such as the neighbourhood density and frequency of the target word and its within- and between-language neighbours and not by the words language membership. However, If the two input codes specific to each language are different (e.g., letter sets), the activated set of neighbours may become much smaller. Figure 2. The BIA+ model for bilingual word recognition. Arrows indicate activation flows between representational pools. Inhibitory connections within pools are omitted. Language nodes could instead be attached to lemma representations between word form and meaning representations. Non-linguistic context only affects the task schema level. (Dijkstra Van Heuven The architecture of the bilingual word recognition sysytem, Bilingualism:Language and Cognition, 5, 2002 )

The Changes Of Jerome Renault Essay examples -- essays research papers

Jerry Renault in The Chocolate War appears to be â€Å"going with the flow†Ã¢â‚¬â€trying out for football, checking out girls—but his inner character drives him to differ. He fights to grasp his feelings and lacks self-confidence when he needs it most. As Jerry begins to unearth his inner-self, other obstacles and ideas dealing with certain emotions arise. As he progresses and reaches a level of comprehension, he grows closer to his goal—a sense of self-rule. Jerry seems to be a typical freshman, in a period of experimentation—trying out for the team, dreaming about girls, reading â€Å"girlie magazines,† but he also appears to be a dazed and confused one. He is â€Å"stunned by his mother’s recent death and by the way his father sleepwalks through life.† Jerry is experiencing an identity crisis and needs some self loyalty which can only be gained by reaching a level of understanding of himself and his feelings. Later, preparing for bed and sleep, Jerry looked at himself in the mirror, saw himself as that guy on the Common must have seen him the other day: Square Boy. Just as he had superimposed his mother’s image on his father’s face, now he could see his father’s face reflected in his own features. He turned away. He didn’t want to be a mirror image of his father. The thought made him cringe. I want to do something, be somebody. But what? But what? (p.53) As Jerry continues to search for himself, he is faced with a â€Å"Vigil assignment†Ã¢â‚¬â€refusal to participate in the school fund raiser, ...

Titanic :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The film "Titanic" is riddled with moral dilemmas. In one of the scenes, the owner of Star Line, the shipping company that owned the now-sinking Unsinkable, joins a lowered life-boat. The tortured expression on his face demonstrates that even he experiences more than unease at his own conduct. Prior to the disaster, he instructs the captain to adopt a policy dangerous to the ship. Indeed, it proves fatal. A complicating factor was the fact that only women and children were allowed by the officers in charge into the lifeboats. Another was the discrimination against Third Class passengers. The boats sufficed only to half the number of those on board and the First Class, High Society passengers were preferred over the Low-Life immigrants under deck. Why do we all feel that the owner should have stayed on and faced his inevitable death? Because we judge him responsible for the demise of the ship. Additionally, his wrong instructions – motivated by greed and the pursuit of celebrity – were a crucial contributing factor. The owner should have been punished (in his future) for things that he has done (in his past). This is intuitively appealing. Would we have rendered the same judgement had the Titanic’s fate been the outcome of accident and accident alone? If the owner of the ship could have had no control over the circumstances of its horrible ending – would we have still condemned him for saving his life? Less severely, perhaps. So, the fact that a moral entity has ACTED (or omitted, or refrained from acting) in its past is essential in dispensing with future rewards or punishments. The "product liability" approach also fits here. The owner (and his "long arms": manufacturer, engineers, builders, etc.) of the Titanic were deemed responsible because they implicitly contracted with their passengers. They made a representation (which was explicit in their case but is implicit in most others): "This ship was constructed with knowledge and forethought. The best design was employed to avoid danger. The best materials to increase pleasure." That the Titanic sank was an irreversible breach of this contract. In a way, it was an act of abrogation of duties and obligations. The owner/manufacturer of a product must compensate the consumers should his product harm them in any manner that they were not explicitly, clearly, visibly and repeatedly warned against.

Macbeth: Predestination or Free Will? Essay -- Literary Analysis

When reading William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, it seems that Macbeth was predestined to do the terrible deeds that he did. However, there is also a valid argument that Macbeth exercised his free will and chose to do those things on his own. This discussion leads into many different topics, but it relates most to spirituality. The concept of free will and how it relates to Macbeth and our present lives yields a relevant and interesting topic for further discussion. The first argument for Macbeth being predestined arises in the first Act when the witches called themselves the â€Å"weird† sisters: â€Å"The weird sisters hand in hand† (I.iii. line 32). At the time of Macbeth’s writing, weird did not mean strange or unusual as it does today. Weird was derived from the Old English word wyrd, meaning fate.1 Essentially, the witches were calling themselves the â€Å"fate† sisters. As defined by Merriam-Webster, fate is â€Å"an inevitable and often adverse outcome, condition, or end.† 2 Based on this definition, the women of fate appear to have either been controlling the way history played out, or they had the ability to see what was going to happen. Either way, Macbeth had no control over his life so he was basically a pawn on a bloody chess board moving about under the control of â€Å"fate.† As Macbeth progressed further into his downfall and more of the witches’ prophecies came true, Macbeth started to believe that their statements could not be false. â€Å"The spirits that know/ All mortal consequences...† (V.iii. lines 4-5). This fact is reiterated when Macbeth drew all of his confidence from those prophecies near the end of the play: â€Å"But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,/ Brandished by man that’s of a woman born.† (V.vii. lines 12-13). (In ... ...s in the context of Macbeth, but once these beliefs are placed into the realm of the real world, there is a lot more room for argument. Things in real life are less certain and there are many variables that can affect a person’s opinion on this matter. Ultimately, it comes down to a personal decision that everyone exercises their freedom of choice on to establish what they believe. Works Cited 1. Online Etymology Dictionary. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. . 2. "Fate - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 24 Nov. 2010. . 3. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Elements of Literature [Gr. 12]. Literature of Britain with World Classics. Austin [Tex.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2000. 301-82. Print.

Gender communication

For many years, society has influenced how humans act and communicate towards one another depending on the scenario and the sex that they are specified to. Social and cultural norms can significantly influence both the expression of gender identity, and the nature of the interactions between genders.Gender culture, the set of behaviors or practices associated with masculinity and femininity (Relish p 423), pay a huge contribution on how and why males and females communicate fervently with other genders. Researchers like Susan Relish believe that the differences start from childhood with the games they are influenced to play. The stereotypes the media portray nowadays also play a factor on the difference Of males and females. It ultimately affects the communication styles by the way they process information, the â€Å"leadership† role males tend to feel, and their talk time.Since childhood, little girls are influenced to play house, with no rules, obligations, or worries about anything because the â€Å"dad† is the one who should make the money while the â€Å"mom† stays home. While on the other hand, most if not all, boys are obligated to join sports teams, be competitive, and have goals and strategies. These differences as children cause women to operate from assumptions about communication, and use rules for communication that differ significantly from those endorsed by most men (Relish p 422).Little boys are told to â€Å"suck it up† if they get hurt during a game while the girls are tended to as quickly as possible which can explain why many men don't show as much emotion when they communicate. Aries' research shows that men aren't as open as women are with others: Men are more likely than women to emerge as leaders, to be directive and hierarchical, to dominate in groups by talking more and interrupting more and to be oriented toward solving problems. In contrast, women are found to be more expressive, supportive, facilitative, egalitarian and cooperative than men.In the movie, John Tucker Must Die, the star athlete portrays the typical stereotype male in which they have â€Å"locker room talk†. His friends make fun of him because he is â€Å"whipped† but he turns it around by saying that he only does It so that he can get laid. Reason he does that is because he doesn't ant to show weakness with other men and wants them to know that he is the hierarchy in the relationship. On the other hand, girls are more open and talk with each other for advice using every detail they can. Women are more expressive with each other rather than men who are better at keeping everything bottled in.According to Lewis and Miller, women communicate emotionally through facial expressions. When females communicate, they tend to use mostly their eyebrows to get their message across. The like to look at the person they are talking to, to make sure that they are listen inning and paying attention to them. Women at ofte n times do not care of the leadership role as long as they are listened to. At the University of Texas at San Antonio, a survey was within the students of the campus between the ages of 1 8 to 25 to see how they communicate differently depending on the people they are with.The table below shows the findings: Fig. 1 DUST communication difference between ages 18 to 25 Upon doing the survey, it is found that men tend to change the way they communicate with others because of social stereotypes while females do not change as much. After some more research, males communicate different tit other males and like to show aggressiveness and hierarchy to not show weakness even though it is not always the case unlike women who communicate almost the same with everyone as long as they get their point across to the other person. Attitude is a strategy both female and males do but differently.Carpi's research shows that men interrupt when they want to get their point across to show authority while Women tend to nod their head, wait and listen. When males communicate with each other, they tend to debate and disagree with each other and with not much eye contact while on the other hand , females re inclined to show support as their â€Å"motherly instincts† come out. When males and females get in a heated discussion, males are most likely to just storm off without wanting to talk about it to avoid having long talks and get aggressive rapidly while the females show much emotion and want to talk everything out.Rather than just talk everything out, men would much rather prefer doing some activities instead (Wright p 49). Fig 2. Females Fig. 3 Males The data below are the Wrights finding between males and females of ages 20 to 24. It is safe to with the data that women prefer to talk with friends than o activities while men want to beat around the bush and just take their mind of it. Women like to take their time talking about their issues and men just keep simple. Pond all this research, sex is the root source of differences of how males and females relate and communicate to others. Whether it is to show hierarchy or express their feelings, it is safe to say that both genders ultimately communicate different based on social norms and to get their point across.

Race / Ethnicity: Compare and Contrast Essay

Although the topic of the certain short stories and poems have different themes and comprehension of what corresponding works that might have similar or different topics, will tell a person what racial background and ethnicities are represented in the short story â€Å"Country Lovers† and the poem â€Å"What It’s like to be a Black Girl†. Finding out whether the characters are the same, if the setting is different between the two, if the theme told outright or did one have to â€Å"think outside of the box† to determine its meaning will lead to what content the two have. If one literary work is a ballad or a play, if one is longer or shorter than the other one, if the tone is the same between the two works, if the language differs between the two works or if it is the same, and whether one works using metaphors, while the other uses similes, will give a person clues as to what the short story and the poem have as far as form, and style. The content of the short story of â€Å"Country Lovers† and the poem â€Å"What It’s like to be a Black Girl† have women who deal with unfairness for the reason of their race and has the main character or protagonist being a black female. Racism can be something that some people experience almost daily just like in the short story â€Å"Country Lovers â€Å". The short story called â€Å"Country Lovers† was written by Nadine Gordimer in 1975† (Clugston, 2010). This short story is about a forbidden love between a young black girl named Thebedi and a young white boy named Paulus Eysendyck which took place on a South African farm. The main characters Paulus and Thebedi were raised together. The setting of the story takes place in mainly three areas, which would be the farm house where the boy lives, the river where they meet to hide their relationship, and the village where the girl lives. The settings in the story help my understanding of the theme because it gives me a distinct awareness as to how the social classes play a part in the prohibition of love. The boy lives in a beautiful home that is described to be of a high social class. In the text the home is described as, â€Å"The kitchen was it lively thoroughfare, with servants, food supplies, begging cats and dogs, pots boiling over, washing being damped for ironing, and the big deep-freezer the missus had ordered from town, bearing a crocheted mate and a vase of plastic iris (Clugston, 2010)†. This quote from the text helps me imagine a well-to-do home for the boy. Paulus Eysendyck was the child of the farm owner and Thebedi’s dad worked for Mr. Eysendyck on his farm. Paulus (a white boy) and Thebedi (a black girl) played together and spent much of their youthful days with each other. As time passed they began to grow up and the closeness between the two also grew apart. They both knew that they could not be together openly. All the way through this short story there are many extraordinary consequences. The first takes place when the narrator talks about Paulus going away to school â€Å"This usefully happens at the same time when the author states about the age of twelve or thirteen; so that by the time early adolescence is reached, the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call their old playmates missus and baasie little master† (Clugston, 2010). However, the attachment formed between them as children is still there. Both Paulus’ and Thebedi’s parents never forbid them from seeing one another but there was always this unspoken knowledge that they knew it was wrong because they always seemed to be hiding the fact that they did spend a lot of time with one another. An example of this would be when Paulus came home from school and brought Thebedi a gift. â€Å"She told her father the missus had given them to her as a reward for some works she had done-it was true she sometimes was called to help out in the farmhouse. She told the girls in the kraal that she had a sweetheart nobody knew about, tat away, away on another farm, and they giggled, and teased, and admired her. There was a boy in the kraal called Njabulo who said he wished he could have brought her a belt and earrings. † (Clugston, 2010). There’s loss of innocence and forbidden love as described here when Paulus watches Thebedi wade in the water, â€Å"The schoolgirls he went swimming with at dams or pools on neighboring farms wore bikinis but the sight of their dazzling bellies and thighs in the sunlight had never made him feel what he felt now when the girl came up the bank and sat beside him, the drops of water beading off her dark legs the only points of light in the earth–smelling deep shade. † (Clugston, 2010). They were not afraid of one another, they had known one another always; he did with her what he had done that time in the storeroom at the wedding, and this time it was so lovely, so lovely, he was surprised . . . and she was surprised by it, too—he could see in her dark face that was part of the shade, with her big dark eyes, shiny as soft water, watching him attentively: as she had when they used to huddle over their teams of mud oxen, as she had when he told her about detention weekends at school. † (Clugston, 2010). The racialism sets in hard towards the end of this short story when Paulus Eysendyck arrived home from the veterinary college for the holidays. This is where he finds out that the young black girl Thebedi had given birth to a baby. When he finds out about the baby he goes to Thebedi’s hut to see for himself. When he reaches the hut and see’s the baby first hand â€Å"He struggled for a moment with a grimace of tears, anger, and self–pity. She could not put out her hand to him. He said, â€Å"You haven’t been near the house with it? â€Å"’ (Clugston, 2010). By his response when finding out that the two of them had created a life during their prohibited connection shows how he knew that such thing was not accepted in his society. As the story goes on Paulus returned to the hut where Thebedi and the infant child lived; and it states â€Å"She thought she heard small grunts from the hut, the kind of infant grunt that indicates a full stomach, a deep sleep. After a time, long or short she did not know, he came out and walked away with plodding stride (his father’s gait) out of sight, towards his father’s house† (Clugston, 2010). As you read on you get the realization that Paulus killed the infant child that day when he returned to Thebedi’s hut. â€Å"The baby was not fed during the night and although she kept telling Njabulo it was sleeping, he saw for himself in the morning that it was dead. He comforted her with words and caresses. She did not cry but simply sat, staring at the door† (Clugston, 2010). Reading this part of the story tells me that Paulus was very afraid that the community would find out about the relationship between the two and he tries to cover it up as if nothing ever happened between the two of them of which shows you how difficult life must have been back then with the racial discriminations. At the very end of this story the police had dug up the baby and brought charges against Paulus for murder. Thebedi up on the stand said â€Å"She cried hysterically in the witness box, saying yes, yes (the gilt hoop earrings swung in her ears), she saw the accused pouring liquid into the baby’s mouth. She said he had threatened to shoot her if she told anyone† (Clugston, 2010). Over a year had gone by when Thebedi returned to the court house; but this time she told the court that â€Å"she said she had not seen what the white man did in the house† (Clugston, 2010). Nadine Gordimer penetrates the normal life that guards a person from our own evaluation. As an aspect this insight, the writer also pierces the dissimulations of clandestine operatives, those ordinary-looking folk in one’s circle whose real lives are based on active opposition to the police state. What are exposed are not their secrets, but their humanity. Because of her testimony â€Å"The verdict on the accused was â€Å"not guilty†(Clugston, 2010). The poem â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t)† (Clugston, 2010), which was written by Patricia Smith in 1991. An explanation in its purest form of â€Å"What it’s like to be a Black Girl (for those of you who aren’t)† by Patricia Smith, is just that, an explanation. From the first three syllables â€Å"First of all,† the author gives a sense of a story being told. She uses jagged sentence structure and strong forceful language to also show the reader the seriousness of her topic. Smith’s poem gives the audience an insider’s view into a young black girl’s transition into black woman-hood at a time where both being a black girl and a black woman was not as welcomed. Puberty is usually defined by the biological changes a young girl’s body undertakes around the age of 9 up until about 14. â€Å"It’s being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished,† writes Smith, â€Å"like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong. † (Smith, 4) These thoughts run through the minds of puberty stricken young girl. The poem, â€Å"What’s it like to be a Black Girl†, is a look into the mind of a black girl in a society that is fueled with racism and discrimination, both of race and gender. This person is transitioning from a young black girl into young black women and trying to accept the changes that are taking place within her body. She has been taught to be ashamed of who she is, what she looks like, and where she comes from. She wants her features to look like those who are accepted in society. Nadine Gordimer was born in 1923, â€Å"She has lived in South Africa since birth and, except for a year spent in university, has devoted all her adult life to writing—completing 13 novels and 10 short story collections, works that have been published in 40 languages. Her strong opposition to apartheid, the socioeconomic system that oppressed the majority black population in South Africa (1949—1994), is a dominant theme in her writing, with her later works reflecting challenges accompanying the changing attitudes in the country toward racial relationships. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991† (Clugston, 2010). Patricia Smith who was born in 1955, was an African American poet and performance artist, has won the National Poetry Slam four times. The hardships that these women suffer during their life can be suffered by anyone but growing up in a discriminatory atmosphere creates a more dramatic story or outcome. The great thing about reading is that it brings you to another place, time and feeling. At times a story can make you smile with the character, and other times make you cry with him. Even with some stories and poems the literature may even allow the reader to identify with the characters. In conclusion, reality can often be a lot like a piece of literature, in that a person may be going through the exact same thing, or something similar, and be feeling the same way. It is effortless to view the tough and unspoken racism demonstrated in Nadine Gordimer’s â€Å"Country Lovers† as well as how the girl feels in Patricia Smith’s What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t). In both readings you get a sense of the hardship’s that both the characters had faced because of racism; the things that people may do or allow happening because it is so hard. References Clugston, R. W. (2010). Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer. In Journey into literature (chapter 3) Retrieved from https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2/sections/h3. 2. Clugston, R. W. (2010). Poems for Reflection. In Journey into literature (chapter 12 section 2). Retrieved from https://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2/sections/sec12. 2.

A Personal Educational Philosophies

My personal philosophy of education is holistic, and focuses on the role of the teacher as a facilitator of students. This personal philosophy is important in guiding my future career goals to become a better educator. I believe that teaching and learning are concepts that often cannot be easily teased apart. Often, we learn even as we teach, as in the case of a new teacher who learns a great deal about the importance of keeping the attention and respect of children as she teaches her very first real kindergarten class. In addition, we teach as we learn, as in the case of a child who shares his family's Christmas traditions with a class who is learning about holidays throughout the world. Students, in my opinion, are active participants in the teaching process. Often, professional educators see themselves as teachers, and focus strongly on their teaching skills, abilities, philosophies, and plans. I see teachers instead as facilitators of learning among students. This belief takes the emphasis off the importance of the teacher as the authority who imparts knowledge to children, and instead focuses importance on the learner's role in acquiring knowledge or skills. My personal philosophy of education encompasses a little bit from each of the five philosophies of education. The five philosophies are: Essentialism, Progressivism, Perennialism, Existentialism, and Behaviorism. While many in the educational community tend to attach themselves strongly to one philosophy, and discount the others, I believe there is a lot to be learned from each of the theories. That said, the philosophies of Existentialism and Perennialism have special appeal for me. Existentialism places a strong focus on the unique development of the student, with the teachers role to † help students define their own essence by exposing them to various paths they may take in life and creating an environment in which they may freely choose their own preferred way† (Shaw, Existentialism). Perennialism also holds as strong appeal, which espouses the â€Å"the notion that some ideas have lasted over centuries and are as relevant today as when they were first conceived, Perennialism urges that these ideas should be the focus of education† ((Shaw, Perennialism). I strongly feel that the ability to learn, rather than simply rote learning of facts or beliefs, is absolutely worth knowing. Enabling students to become critical thinkers, who can learn on their own, in a number of different environments, is the most important facet of teaching. This is especially true today, in a world that is brimming with information. Individuals in our society, more than ever before, need to be able to obtain knowledge from the multitude of information in the world today. It is impossible to know everything in the world today, and this is often even true among specific specialties. As an example, who among us would be arrogant enough to say that he or she knows everything there is to know about education? The key components of my personal philosophy of teaching follow: A teacher is simply the facilitator of learning. All educational philosophies have some important ideas. The ability to learn, rather than simply rote learning of facts or beliefs, is absolutely worth knowing. Teaching and learning are concepts that often cannot be easily teased apart. Taken together, these components form my personal philosophy of teaching. I plan to use these beliefs to become a better teacher, who focuses strongly facilitating learning in students. I will use these beliefs as the key basis of my instructional practice. Personally, I plan to use these beliefs to empower my friends and family (and myself) to become active learners. In conclusion, my personal philosophy of teaching focuses on the student, rather than the teacher. I see myself as a facilitator of learning, whose job it is to empower students to learn on their own. I also see a valuable role in a holistic view of teaching, with much to be learned from each of the five educational philosophies.

The other wes moore

Jodi Snyder English 101 Beth Stevens 07/18/2014 The Other West Moore Can two men with very similar backgrounds grow up to be completely different? West Moore takes us on a Journey back to his childhood as well as the childhood of a man with the same name. The author West describes how the two men, grew up Just blocks from each other, both surrounded with drugs and crime. West was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of John Hopkins, army veteran and well renowned speaker around the world teaching people about his story. The other West Moore was spending the rest of his in prison.When West learned about the other man with the same name, room the same neighborhood and the fact he was in prison, West was intrigued. West decided he needed to find out more about this man. He started writing this West Moore in prison. Not too long after, he found himself at the prison, finally meeting the other West Moore. In the book West tells us about the conversations the other West and he had. Talking about each other's lives, the similarities and the differences resulting in the book, â€Å"The Other West Moore†.In the introduction West states that, â€Å"Our stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the racial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed. † (x') He helps us realize that all it takes is one split decision could change our life forever. That you can easily stumble down the right path, even the right one. (xiv) It all starts with two young black boys. How they both ended up fatherless and with single mothers. Them both ending up in trouble with the law at about the same age.West explores the role of the mothers' of himself and the other West. He remembers how his mother took his sisters and him to vive with their grandparents after the death of his father when he was very young. He thinks about how strict his mother and grandparents were. West remains tha nkful for that today. The incarcerated West tells the author how he followed in his brother Tony's footsteps, getting into the drug scene. He recalls how Tony tried to keep him off the mean streets of Baltimore. Tony failed. One of the final breaking points for West was when his mother flushed four thousand dollars' worth of drugs.After he confronted his mother, this is what she said. â€Å"Not only did you lie to me but you were selling drugs and keeping them in my house! Putting all of us in danger†¦ ‘ don' ever want to see it in here again. Now get out of my room. â€Å"(74) His mother Mary, was not the least bit concerned about West's dilemma. Mary had pretty much lost all hope for her son. West was in and out of school and trouble. Did he try to get out of the life that was causing him to spiral downwards? Levy, a friend of West', turned him on to the Job Corps. West told him enema, man, I am ready to try something.Anything. † (139). Soon after, he was off to the Job Corps. The authors' mom had sent him off to military school around the same time. She thought that would be the best way for him to stay UT of trouble. One of his first memories of being there was, â€Å"Get up, get up, get out of your racks, plebes! † (85). That's what was yelled at him at 5:30 in the morning. West goes on to share with us the ins and outs of his time in military school. How having that structure and discipline really changed him. This is where the author's life and the other West Moor's life start to differ.The incarcerated West graduated from the Job Corps. West describes that after his return, he ended up is several temporary part time Jobs. He thought he would never get ahead. At this point, he talks about how he ended up back in the life he tried to leave. Dealing drugs, that's the only thing he really knew about. The only way he felt he could take care of his family. He explains to the author about the time he got caught up in a Jewelry store robbery with his brother and two other men which resulted in the murder of Baltimore police officer.That was the day his life was over as he knew it. He would spend the rest of his days in prison. He still claims, â€Å"l wasn't even there that day. † (125). The author proudly tells us how he graduated from military school as a very high ranked cadet. From there he went on to be a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from John Hopkins. He elaborates on the wonderful, fulfilling life he went on to have. In the first part of this book the author reveals to us how he came to hear about the other West Moore. He had read an article with the title, â€Å"Local Graduate Named Rhodes Scholar. He realized it was about him. He then read an article on the robbery, murder and the other West Moore. West set out to find out more about this man's life and how it compares to his. Again this is the basis of this book. Why did the author feel the need to tell his story? The author wants us all to realize that you can be from the same place, with the same issues and still come out on top. That yes, there will be challenges, but if you work hard enough and are lucky enough to have the support, you can do anything.Some of most enlightening moments in the book come one of the last meetings between the author West and the incarcerated West. It had been nearly three years since West first contacted the incarcerated West. The author asks West, â€Å"Do you think we're all Just products of our environments? † (126) Too this question West answers, â€Å"l think so, or maybe products of our expectations. † (126). â€Å"We will do what others expect of us,†¦ If they expect us to go to Jail, then that's where we will end up. (126) Author West Moore does an excellent Job of showing us the lives of the two West'.His hope is that this will inspire young people. To let them know that they can be whatever they want to be. It may take work, and it may be hard, but they can do it. In the end West says, â€Å"Above all, I hope that this book can provide young people with a way to identify with the success as a possibility, and a reason to believe that a story that begins with a struggle, apathy, and the pain of loss can still have a happy ending. † (183) Works Cited Moore, West. â€Å"The Other West Moore: One Name, Two Fates†. New York: Spiegel & Grab, 2011 Print The other wes moore Jodi Snyder English 101 Beth Stevens 07/18/2014 The Other West Moore Can two men with very similar backgrounds grow up to be completely different? West Moore takes us on a Journey back to his childhood as well as the childhood of a man with the same name. The author West describes how the two men, grew up Just blocks from each other, both surrounded with drugs and crime. West was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of John Hopkins, army veteran and well renowned speaker around the world teaching people about his story. The other West Moore was spending the rest of his in prison.When West learned about the other man with the same name, room the same neighborhood and the fact he was in prison, West was intrigued. West decided he needed to find out more about this man. He started writing this West Moore in prison. Not too long after, he found himself at the prison, finally meeting the other West Moore. In the book West tells us about the conversations the other West and he had. Talking about each other's lives, the similarities and the differences resulting in the book, â€Å"The Other West Moore†.In the introduction West states that, â€Å"Our stories are obviously specific to our two lives, but I hope they will illuminate the racial inflection points in every life, the sudden moments of decision where our paths diverge and our fates are sealed. † (x') He helps us realize that all it takes is one split decision could change our life forever. That you can easily stumble down the right path, even the right one. (xiv) It all starts with two young black boys. How they both ended up fatherless and with single mothers. Them both ending up in trouble with the law at about the same age.West explores the role of the mothers' of himself and the other West. He remembers how his mother took his sisters and him to vive with their grandparents after the death of his father when he was very young. He thinks about how strict his mother and grandparents were. West remains tha nkful for that today. The incarcerated West tells the author how he followed in his brother Tony's footsteps, getting into the drug scene. He recalls how Tony tried to keep him off the mean streets of Baltimore. Tony failed. One of the final breaking points for West was when his mother flushed four thousand dollars' worth of drugs.After he confronted his mother, this is what she said. â€Å"Not only did you lie to me but you were selling drugs and keeping them in my house! Putting all of us in danger†¦ ‘ don' ever want to see it in here again. Now get out of my room. â€Å"(74) His mother Mary, was not the least bit concerned about West's dilemma. Mary had pretty much lost all hope for her son. West was in and out of school and trouble. Did he try to get out of the life that was causing him to spiral downwards? Levy, a friend of West', turned him on to the Job Corps. West told him enema, man, I am ready to try something.Anything. † (139). Soon after, he was off to the Job Corps. The authors' mom had sent him off to military school around the same time. She thought that would be the best way for him to stay UT of trouble. One of his first memories of being there was, â€Å"Get up, get up, get out of your racks, plebes! † (85). That's what was yelled at him at 5:30 in the morning. West goes on to share with us the ins and outs of his time in military school. How having that structure and discipline really changed him. This is where the author's life and the other West Moor's life start to differ.The incarcerated West graduated from the Job Corps. West describes that after his return, he ended up is several temporary part time Jobs. He thought he would never get ahead. At this point, he talks about how he ended up back in the life he tried to leave. Dealing drugs, that's the only thing he really knew about. The only way he felt he could take care of his family. He explains to the author about the time he got caught up in a Jewelry store robbery with his brother and two other men which resulted in the murder of Baltimore police officer.That was the day his life was over as he knew it. He would spend the rest of his days in prison. He still claims, â€Å"l wasn't even there that day. † (125). The author proudly tells us how he graduated from military school as a very high ranked cadet. From there he went on to be a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from John Hopkins. He elaborates on the wonderful, fulfilling life he went on to have. In the first part of this book the author reveals to us how he came to hear about the other West Moore. He had read an article with the title, â€Å"Local Graduate Named Rhodes Scholar. He realized it was about him. He then read an article on the robbery, murder and the other West Moore. West set out to find out more about this man's life and how it compares to his. Again this is the basis of this book. Why did the author feel the need to tell his story? The author wants us all to realize that you can be from the same place, with the same issues and still come out on top. That yes, there will be challenges, but if you work hard enough and are lucky enough to have the support, you can do anything.Some of most enlightening moments in the book come one of the last meetings between the author West and the incarcerated West. It had been nearly three years since West first contacted the incarcerated West. The author asks West, â€Å"Do you think we're all Just products of our environments? † (126) Too this question West answers, â€Å"l think so, or maybe products of our expectations. † (126). â€Å"We will do what others expect of us,†¦ If they expect us to go to Jail, then that's where we will end up. (126) Author West Moore does an excellent Job of showing us the lives of the two West'.His hope is that this will inspire young people. To let them know that they can be whatever they want to be. It may take work, and it may be hard, but they can do it. In the end West says, â€Å"Above all, I hope that this book can provide young people with a way to identify with the success as a possibility, and a reason to believe that a story that begins with a struggle, apathy, and the pain of loss can still have a happy ending. † (183) Works Cited Moore, West. â€Å"The Other West Moore: One Name, Two Fates†. New York: Spiegel & Grab, 2011 Print