Standardized Testing Is Necessary For Education - 2037 Words

Assessment, assessment, assessment, it is not fun and no student in their right mind would argue otherwise but testing is necessary. This one word has become the centerpiece of education not only in the United States but in the entire westernized world. Standardized testing has been used to measure teacher quality and student achievement since the mid-1800s. Within the last two decades standardized testing has taken on an important role in education in all 50 states since its mandate by President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act. The use of standardized testing to measure progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and help professionals reach competency in their careers are critical to improvement of the educational system. There are many facts about standardized achievement testing: the public wants it, other nations may do it better, and many critics offer no viable alternatives to it (Haladyna, 2006). President George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law on January 8, 2002, thus re-authorizing six more years of Johnson’s historic Elementary and Secondary Education Act initiative. The No Child Left Behind Act aims to reform education by improving academic standards, with goals such as: holding states more accountable for results, creating greater flexibility at the state and local levels, expanding options and choice for parents, emphasizing teacher quality and effective teaching methods, and confirming states progress (Fritzberg 2004, p. 11). It expanded theShow MoreRelatedEmphasis on Standardized Testing Essay1525 Words   |  7 Pagesthroughout ones educational career, students are required to take standardized tests to show their progress and if they meet certain requirements they could qualify them for higher educational opportunities. Some common standardized test include: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), American College Testing (ACT), Medical College Admis sion Test (MCAT), Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), and Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL). Standardized tests are designed so that each person taking the test has theRead MoreThe Importance Of Standardized Testing In Education1140 Words   |  5 PagesThe standardized test has become the staple of the United States K12 education system. Students at all levels are routinely tested, and schools evaluated based on the scores. It’s easy to look at this as a necessary part of the system, a needed way of assessing both school and individual student performance to ensure quality across all schools. These tests are regarded as a tried-and true way of doing this, when in reality they are neither old nor accurate in assessment. I move in this essay thatRead MoreStudent Assessment - The Importance of Standardized Testing Essay1149 Words   |  5 PagesThe point here is that standardized testing is necessary to evaluate students and programs achievement or ability. In my opinion it is a good basic start to understanding the development of human- kind in many aspects. For example, in a school setting, standardizing tests are used to measure developmental stages or reading levels, just to name a few. School Psychologist and Counselors use standardizing testing to look at the development of students. They will agree severe disabilities to be initiallyRead MoreStandardized Testing Has a Negative Effect on American Youth Essay1133 Words   |  5 Pagesbattlefield. High stakes were placed on this test 93 years ago; high stakes are placed on tests modeled after them today. The standardized achievement tests commonly used in schools today evolved from the Army Alphas developed by the American Psychological Association. This is precisely the problem. Standardized tests are old and outdated, and the harm they cause to America’s education system by far out-weighs the benefits. These tests were intended to monitor and offer ways to improve how public schoolsRead MoreThe National Assessment Of Educational Progress877 Words   |  4 Pagesbe told this during their freshman orientation. These students will be surprised to find that their previous education did not prepare them to be successful in a university setting. The long and arduous process necessary to turn students into test taking machines seems to make them less capable of cognitive reasoning, thus not adequately training them to use critical thinking as is necessary in universities. You’d think the educators of our public school systems would be aware and inclined to resolveRead MoreSuccess Is The Sum Of All Efforts, Repeated Day And Day Out By Robert Collier958 Words   |  4 PagesMany educational opportunities are based on a student s standardized testing scores and how well the student performs, but the thing that matters most is not standardized testing, its the student’s day to day performance and activities. Standardized testing defeats the purpose of knowledg e and focuses on the scores neglecting the material. Standardized testing is an organized and accurate way to measure a student’s intelligence. â€Å"Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT have been shown to be effectiveRead MoreIt Is No Surprise That Today’S Education System Is Not1721 Words   |  7 Pagessurprise that today’s education system is not in the best shape. In a system where students are more focused on what is going on at home than their school work, testing is the main focus, schools are underfunded, and teachers are underpaid, something has got to change in order to move our system in a positive direction that is necessary for students to get the most out of the public education system. These are just some of the many problems we are faced with in today’s education system. An article IRead MoreStandardized Tests Are Not A Success1347 Words   |  6 PagesStandardized Tests are Not a Success Standardized testing has been ruling over the lives of students, making or breaking them in their education without fair judgement. Tests like the SAT and the ACT count for way too much when applying to colleges, which in turn limits the student s capabilities to thrive in an environment that would benefit them. There are many problems within a standardized test that deems them to be unreliable as a true test of knowledge. Although designed to test groups ofRead MoreEssay on Standardized Testing a Failure in Education1335 Words   |  6 PagesStandardized testing scores proficiencies in most generally accepted curricular areas. The margin of error is too great to call this method effective. â€Å"High test scores are generally related to things other than the actual quality of education students are receiving† (Kohn 7). â€Å"Only recently have test scores been published in the news-paper and used as the primary criteria for judging children, teachers, and schools.†(2 ) Standardized testing is a great travesty imposed upon the American Public SchoolRead MoreThe Right Path For America s Education1232 Words   |  5 PagesYun Hee Sul Professor ENG 111 November 09, 2015 The Right Path for America’s Education â€Å"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education† (qtd. in, The Function of Education) is one of many famous quotes by Martin Luther King Jr. that many Americans remember. However, the contemporary American education seems way off the path. Instead of learning to think intensively and critically, students these

A Critique on Lycidas Written by John Milton - 1206 Words

Lycidas is a popular, well-known poem, which was written in the early 1630s by John Milton. The poem is written in the style of pastoral elegy and is dedicated to Edward King a friend of John Milton who drowned out at sea. About 100 years after the poem had already been well known, Samuel Johnson responded forcefully by writing a critique that has also become well renowned. Samuel Johnson, who wrote the English Dictionary, questions the worth of Lycidas. According to Johnson, poetry is an art form that should be praised when its qualities are beautiful, symmetrical and full of passion. John Milton’s Lycidas does not meet any of these standards. Lycidas is a typical pastoral elegy that does not strike any chords of emotion. Cleary†¦show more content†¦Perhaps Milton is talking about himself but he covers it with his allegorical language. The surroundings filled with nymphs and gods does not relate back to anything real. There is something sneaky about the way Milton draws in his ideas about fame. This is supposed to be an elegy, not a questioning about one’s chance for eminence. (MILTONS OBSESSION WITH HIMSELF AND HIS WORDS) Milton asks many pointless questions throughout his poem but the most obvious one is â€Å"What hard mishap hath doom’d this gentle swain?† (92) Although he does not personally ask it, Milton still knows the answer. Clearly Edward King drowned, in the sea, on a boat. Milton’s word choice of â€Å"what hard mishap† â€Å"doom’d† and â€Å"gentle swain† is very dramatic and misrepresents King’s death. Milton, himself is carried away by his own dramatic grandeur, to the point that he only seems to want to entertain his readers more than convey his sadness. Besides trying to captivate his readers through obnoxious opulence, Milton also uses Lycidas as his own political soapbox. In the middle of Lycidas, Milton goes on a tangent where the â€Å"pilot of the Galilean sea†, Saint Peter, appears and gives a speech about the way the clergy treats the believers of the church. Among other things, Saint Peter says, â€Å"The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed, / But swollen with wind, and the rank mist they draw, / Rot inwardly, and foul contagion spread.†(125-127) The sheep represent the people ofShow MoreRelatedJohn Milton s Lycidas Uses Fruitful And Fertile Imagery1643 Words   |  7 Pagesclose friend, John Milton’s Lycidas uses fruitful and fertile imagery to describe the watery death of his collegiate companion. Water in this poem functions both as it normally does, describing rebirth in a true baptismal fashion, and in an alternate way, in reference to the drowning and death of Edward King. The poem also takes time to discuss the malicious actions of the English clergymen, poetically described in traditional pastoral imagery, so in this way it is similar to what Milton does with the

Suicide Essay Free Essays

Suicide has always been an objective of primary interest and main concern to people of different cultures and historical periods. Suicide as a phenomenon has been discussed and described In literature, philosophy, and sociology. There are various definitions of suicide that have been proposed by the writers and researchers, such as the Intentional act of killing oneself, the act of terminating life, and the act of deliberate self-destruction. We will write a custom essay sample on Suicide Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Some difficulties arise when we try to explain seclude specifically because the nature of suicide is very complex, and it is hard to justify suicidal behavior or distinguish it from other behavior. For example, a person, who knows that smoking leads to the serious health risks but deliberately engages in this activity and dies consequently, has not committed suicide. On the other hand, if a mentally ill individual arranges the circumstances for his or her deaths (by cutting veins, Jumping off buildings, etc. ), we can say that this person has committed suicide. In America, suicide rates are going up rapidly since 1999. But in our modern society, if a person commits suicide, it does not mean that that this person is bad and fragile. All of us experience problems during some periods of our lives. But the mall point Is that some people know how to handle these problems and some of them are getting lost because they see no light In the end of the tunnel and eventually give up. Thus, people normally commit suicide to end up agonizing emotional pain. These people are unable to see other options of solving their problems: they feel very isolated and distressed. The factors that contribute to stress or trauma and cause suicide are: financial situation, working environment, school, death of a loved one, loss of Job, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, etc. Philosophical revelation about suicide sakes us back to the time of Socrates, including Plato and Aristotle. In his Laws, Plato declared that suicide is outrageous and people, who committed suicide, should be buried in unidentified graves. However, according to Plato, suicide under some circumstances can be excused: when person’s mind Is morally degraded; when suicide Is done by Judicial order; when the self-killing results from shame of participating In disgustingly unfair procedures. In contrast, the Stoics thought that suicide may be reasonable If the quality of life Is not available to an Individual and one’s life is lacking the desired advantages. The philosopher Seneca claimed that an intelligent person â€Å"lives as long as he ought, not as long as he can. † (R. Frey, 1978) Suicide is forbidden by almost all religions and is viewed as a severe sin. Church has demanded that since suicide involves self-killing, then the person who destroys his or her life is sinning in the same way as if this person killed another individual. Life is given by God and it is sacred, therefore, the Christians are against suicide and euthanasia. Suicide violates God’s privilege in determining when people shall die. The nineteenth century carried new developments that have formed theoretical Hough about suicide topic. It was viewed as the predictable response of a suffering person who was Ignored by society. Also, It was the time of recognition of psychiatry as a telephone that could treat depression, hysteria and other disorders accountable for seclude. And finally, In the work of sociologist Druthers, suicide was described as a social disease producing extensive isolation. The sociologists had explained suicide analysis various causes, such as climate, season, and religion. Thus, he concluded that suicide rate is greater in the warmer months in all countries. He also masticates that suicide is greater in Protestant countries compared to Catholic countries. In general, Druthers viewed suicide as a social fact and considered social reasons, such as lack of connections between people and less integration in family constitution. Druthers developed the four classifications of suicide: * Egoistic suicide. The factors responsible for it are depression and disappointment. He concludes that the people who strongly attached to their families or some other type of groups are less likely to come across these issues. * Altruistic suicide occurs when attachment is too great and the person is forced to commit self- ailing. Druthers provides examples of old and ill people or women who want to die after the death of their loved ones. Anomic suicide results from breakdown of standards and values, when a degree of regulation is too low. This can happen either during economic depression or quick economic expansion. * Fatalistic suicide occurs when regulation is too strong. The people are blocked by harsh discipline and they see no possible ways to improve their lives. Many of the modern sociological theories have been originated based on a Druthers idea of social integration. However, some of them have created new approache s in the study of suicide. Thus Breed (1963) interviewed the families of people who committed suicide and introduced into sociology a research method, which provided sociologists with true situations of suicide. Are there any rational circumstances under which suicide can be morally Justified? The moral position on this question holds that it is wrong because people life is sacred. Although this theory is related to the religious version, it is also can be found in the work of Ronald Drink (R. Drink, 1993). Based on this view, individual life is valuable; and suicide violets our obligation to honor our lives. How to cite Suicide Essay, Essays

Compare And Contrast Star Wars Essay Example For Students

Compare And Contrast Star Wars Essay In the images shown in class we can see that the first is about Dorothy being alone in a cornfield with mountains in the background, you see that one day is quite sunny, where she has long hair in pigtails hairstyle braid half ending with a blue ribbon bow shaped, this can represent youth and innocence, is also quiet watching the horizon with a look that expresses hope, joy and a smile that radiates peace, She is wearing a white blouse, smooth, without neckline, short sleeve and above this a sundress blue and white checkered reflecting freshness. With the right arm is holding a square basket, woven, brown very clear that she could use to put the corn harvest. The second image shows the Princess Leila in a spaceship hiding from the enemy or searching very carefully for him, her face is serious might even say that expresses a little scare and she is watching something very carefully. You can see that she has long hair, hair in two pigtails which cover her ears, she is also wearing a smooth white cotton blouse without neckline and short sleeve, she is holding a gun with both hands and loads of conviction, this image shows a very determined and brave woman that you can trust in difficult times. In the following two images we see that each is accompanied by friends, in completely different situations, Dorothy is accompanied by a lion, a straw man and a man of metal and Leila is accompanied by Han Solo and Luke Sky. Alike that would come to be her brother but she does not know until another Star Wars movies. Dorothy and her friends (Scarecrow, Lion and Tim Woodman) are with a surprised expression, because in that part of the movie they are faced with a wizard that gives a solution for Dorothy to go home. Naming her friends from left to right. Foreground find the lion, the lion is clasping his hands in the form of appreciation and a very grateful smile, a kick Of eyes half open. In the next shot we see the Scarecrow, as his eyes see it as peace, because after all they lived portion see a solution and hope to return home Dorothy, the Scarecrow is using a hat, which is common in they also his body is made of straw, we can also see that his nose is a bit redder than usual and his lips are a little small. In third place we see Dorothy as always with a smile and a bit subtle hands gather holding a basket of similarly dressed and groomed than the first photo. Going back to the last of her friends, we found the man of metal, who is looking to her with a smile and a little discreet eye full of happiness for her, The metal man is holding an ax in his right hand and touching the tip of the ax. He looks a little rusty and dirty for all you have gone when you are on is immobile and Dorothy would have to put a little oil so he can move. Finally we have the image of Leila with his friend Han Solo and her brother Luke Jaywalker. Here we appreciate that Leila and her friends are on a spaceship each holding a weapon, as it waiting to ambush the enemy who would be the clones, on the other hand we can see Leila and Luke has a face of concern for not knowing what they lies ahead, however encounters have a gaze and are delighted to be able to deal With the clones. Here we See Luke and Leila dressed with a white suits where we can see the purity of a Jed Knight, Han Solo is wearing a beige shirt and a black vest, where Leila holds her arm to feel a little more protected because in the vie she is attracted to him. .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d , .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .postImageUrl , .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d , .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:hover , .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:visited , .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:active { border:0!important; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:active , .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4af419362144ba3949a5ece5a6fabc8d:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Movie Summary - Pay it Forward EssayIn the background we can see one of the walls of the spaceship empire called the Death Star. For my conclusion would like to mention that Leis role to follow my ideal woman as she shows a strong woman and quite mature, In my opinion she was born with full of many virtues, to name a few find that it is a woman full of courage, humility, purity, inner and outer beauty as well it is a very wise and insightful woman who can make decisions and know now really difficult, on the other hand she is really loyal and honest with its own people.

George Wallace Essays - George Wallace, Arthur Bremer, James Hood

George Wallace annon Former Gov. George C. Wallace of Alabama, who built his political career on segregation and spent a tormented retirement arguing that he was not a racist in his heart, died Sunday night at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery. He was 79 and lived in Montgomery, Ala. Wallace died of respiratory and cardiac arrest at 9:49 p.m., said Dana Beyerly, a spokeswoman for Jackson Hospital in Montgomery. Wallace had been in declining health since being shot in his 1972 presidential campaign by a 21-year-old drifter named Arthur Bremer. Wallace, a Democrat who was a longtime champion of states' rights, dominated his own state for almost a generation. But his wish was to be remembered as a man who might have been president and whose campaigns for that office in 1968, 1972 and 1976 established political trends that have dominated American politics for the last quarter of the 20th century. He believed that his underdog campaigns made it possible for two other Southerners, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, to be taken seriously as presidential candidates. He also argued ceaselessly that his theme of middle-class empowerment was borrowed by Richard Nixon in 1968 and then grabbed by another Californian, Ronald Reagan, as the spine of his triumphant populist conservatism. In interviews later in his life, Wallace was always less keen to talk about his other major role in Southern history. After being elected to his first term as governor in 1962, he became the foil for the huge protests that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used to destroy segregation in public accommodations in 1963 and to secure voting rights for blacks in 1965. As a young man, Wallace came boiling out of the sun-stricken, Rebel-haunted reaches of southeast Alabama to win the governorship on his second try. He became the only Alabamian ever sworn in for four terms as governor, winning elections in 1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982. He retired at the end of his last term in January 1987. So great was his sway over Alabama that by the time he had been in office only two years, other candidates literally begged him for permission to put his slogan, Stand Up for Alabama, on their billboards. Sens. John Sparkman and Lister Hill, New Deal veterans who were powers in Washington and the national Democratic Party, feared to contradict him in public when he vowed to plunge the state into unrelenting confrontation with the federal government over the integration of schools, buses, restrooms and public places in Alabama. It was a power built entirely on his promise to Alabama's white voting majority to continue the historic oppression of its disfranchised and largely impoverished black citizens. And it was snapshots of the peak moments of Wallace's campaign of racial oppression that burned him into the nation's consciousness as the Deep South's most forceful political brawler since Huey Long of Louisiana. First, on Jan. 14, 1963, there was his inaugural address, written by a known Ku Klux Klansman, Asa Carter. In it, Wallace promised to protect the state's Anglo-Saxon people from communistic amalgamation with blacks and ended with the line that would haunt his later efforts to enter the Democratic mainstream: Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever. Wallace's next signature moment came on June 11, 1963, when he mounted his stand in the schoolhouse door to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Within days, it was convincingly reported that Wallace, fearing jail for defying a federal court order, had privately promised President John Kennedy that he would step aside if first allowed to make a defiant speech. Wallace's in-state critics denounced him for a charade that embarrassed the state. But the cold splash of reality did not dampen his plans to use Alabama as a stepping stone to the national political arena and to the anti-Big-government speeches by which he obsessively longed to be remembered by history. Wallace talked of running for president in 1964 as a neo-Dixiecrat candidate. But he backed off when the Republican nominee, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, came out against the bill that later became the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Goldwater's move undercut Wallace's trademark assertion that there's not a dime's worth of difference between the two main parties on race. After the election, Wallace regretted his timidity because he thought Goldwater had run a campaign of comical ineptitude, and when 1968 came around, he invented a party, drafted the eccentric retired Air Force general Curtis LeMay as his running mate, and began draining away the lunch-pail vote from Nixon. One reason for his success was that Wallace always campaigned

How to make your writing at work engaging

How to make your writing at work engaging How do you make writing engaging? How can you make your writing engaging? Or, more specifically, how can you make your business writing engaging? Why, surely thats a contradiction in terms! Right †¦? A lot of people do seem to make a distinction between 1) Work Writing, and 2) Pretty Much Every Other Kind of Writing. It essentially amounts to this: type 2 has the potential to be entertaining and engaging and type 1 doesnt. After all, prestigious prizes are awarded for literature, journalism and non-fiction writing. Meanwhile, the kind of writing they have to do at work can be, yes, functional – but probably also dry. Thats just how it is. You may be unsurprised to hear we dont think thats true. OK, you might not win a Pulitzer Prize for your latest proposal, this months management report or that email you wrote to Stuart in Accounts. But you can make the reading experience for your potential client, the management team or old Stu a more interesting one. Better still, doing so will make a huge difference to how successful and effective what youve written is. We live in a world of too many documents and too little time, and anything thats actually a pleasure to read already has an advantage. So heres how you can help topple the myth that business writing has to be B-O-R-I-N-G: Begin at the beginning Begin with your reader. This is always our number one rule, simply because who youre writing for should colour all the decisions you make when writing. A reader is much, much more likely to be engaged by what youve written if it feels relevant to them. Lets face it, if someone concludes by sentence three that this particular document or email has no relevance to them, what do you suppose the odds of them continuing to read are? Yep – not good. Ideally, youd be writing about a topic that already interests them, naturally – but there again, you may not have a choice. And even if you know theyre unlikely to be instantly gripped, you still have the chance to find a way to make it seem as important as you can to them. Ask yourself these questions every time you write, to prime yourself. And it might sound obvious, but be clear on what you want to say before you get going. Plan the structure first. Combining the thinking and writing processes tends to result in a message that meanders all over the place. And (tough love time), you cant expect anyone to follow you round the houses on the off-chance they find a point along the way. Hook em in Engaging writing has to engage from the start. Those first lines are when your reader is weighing up whether to keep going or do something else instead (like reading another document or email, checking social media or simply leaving their desk and grabbing a coffee). Its at this point that you set their mood for facing the rest. Clearly, it doesnt bode well if their reaction to the first few lines is, Wow, this is going to be a slog. So make your introduction work hard to captivate from the beginning. Its the gatekeeper to the rest of your work. Of course, the reader isnt the only one who may find this section problematic. You will still be getting into the swing of writing when you compose your introduction (unless youre writing it in a panic at the end). This makes it easy to start out a bit long-winded, waffly or flat. But an introduction must have impact. So keep your first sentence or two tight, and definitely dont go in with reams of background. One great technique you can use to kick off is the surprise intro: a strong statement that – youve guessed it – will come as a surprise and shake the reader out of autopilot. Something like More than 60 per cent of Acme Widgets business comes from just 20 customers or One in six people are at risk of flooding in England has a good chance of making them want to read on to find out more. Invisible ink Hands up everyone who likes working really hard to understand something. Thought so. Its very important to make your writing effortless to read. The best writing is invisible. This means that the language used doesnt draw attention to itself – its just a stealth vehicle for the message, which then seems to arrive in your readers head as if from nowhere. And how do you achieve this? Using simple language is a good place to start. Make short words your first choice. Mind you, what this doesnt mean is that you shouldnt ever use longer words. It means, when you do, you do so because the longer word is the best fit, not because it seems like a high-class upgrade. So, you might put utilise in place of the shorter use for its specific meaning of employing something to do a job it wasnt necessarily designed for. But replacing help with ameliorate wont gain you extra points or frequent flyer miles – it just might lose you readers. The points less about always using the shortest word and more about choosing words that are familiar – theres where your knowledge of the reader comes in. Try to avoid a word thats likely to send them off to the dictionary, or that could make them feel frustrated, small or stupid because they dont know it. Treat jargon words the same way, and ban any that wont be understood. (Do use ones that youre sure will be a useful shorthand, though – again, its about knowing whats appropriate for the reader.) In fact, try to write more or less as youd speak in a meeting: professional but conversational. Reading your work aloud can help to check your written voice is as natural as your speech. Doing this will also remind you to pick verbs over the noun equivalent where you would say something using verbs – we agreed rather than we reached an agreement, for example. The same goes for favouring the active voice, where you put the doer before what he, she or it did: we discussed the matter not the matter was discussed by us. (But if you would naturally say it in the passive, use the passive.) Two-way conversations You can draw on more conventions of conversation to engage a reader as you would a listener. Borrow its directness. Would you ever refer to yourself – or the other person – in the third person if you were having a chat? Catie would like to determine if a cup of tea would be of value to the addressee. No-one wants to sit next to that person in the office. Yet we often switch to this kind of indirect, detached language when we write. Weve all seen it. Management would appreciate it if colleagues comments were received by Friday, says the memo to no-one in particular, as if written by a disinterested outsider. But guess what? To be engaging, you have to engage with people. So use you to address the reader if you can, plus the odd I, or we for the company. Youll sound much more human too. And try using questions. Even closed ones with a simple yes/no answer can be powerful, as you cant help but answer them in your head (can you?). Make them see it, feel it and believe it A common piece of advice in fiction writing is show, dont tell – but it applies just as well to business writing. Showing is more visual and convincing than just proclaiming a fact and hoping youll be believed. Check if youre relying too heavily on describing words, whether theyre describing things or actions. Either way, they can sound a bit thin if theres nothing backing them up. So dont just say sales have been impressive, get specific: say theyve doubled or increased by 30 per cent in a month. And dont just call your team of trainers experienced – say how many years theyve been in the industry or whom theyve successfully helped. What did that success look like? Did they increase productivity or sales? Be sure to put numbers in a context people can actually relate to. Commit to what youre saying. Confident words are compelling, while continually using hedge words like perhaps, its possible, and it is our intention to will chip away at your readers faith in you. Find your rhythm When it comes to the sound of your writing, think less techno and more jazz. Mix up the length of your sentences to vary the rhythm and keep your reader (who will hear your words in their head) interested. You probably can – and should – go much shorter with your sentences than you think, sticking to a maximum of 35 words and an average of 15–20. But variety is key. If theyre all similarly longish, itll be dull; all short and the effect is like that of being on a bus during rush hour – endless stop-starting, a sense of nausea and a desperate desire to escape. Use punctuation to keep the rhythm interesting too – a strategically placed dash (like that one), for example, can add a nice dramatic pause. Meanwhile, brackets give the sense of an aside. If youre feeling particularly creative, you can play with some literary techniques thatll make your writing more visual and memorable. One is alliteration – repeatedly using the same letter, as above in stop-starting and desperate desire. The other is the power of three. No-ones sure quite why, but three does indeed seem to be the magic number. One way you can exploit this is by illustrating with three examples, as (again) with those side effects of riding a bus, or the subheading Make them see it, feel it and believe it. Theres no need to overdo these last two tricks, but they do give your writing a bit more punch and staying power – which is why advertisers use them. And finally One last thing: remember that for your writing to be engaging, you have to be engaged while youre writing it. Going through the motions wont result in anything that sounds fresh, especially if youre still getting used to trying out these techniques. With all that in mind, lets go forth and be engaging – yes, even at work. As well as giving everything we create the best chance at success, we just might make the world of business writing a bit more interesting. And that would indeed be something to prize. Image credit: A and N photography / Shutterstock

Supply chain management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Supply chain management - Essay Example A push system however can meet the requirements of a system which needs large inventory which would be difficult for a pull system to manage. Therefore push systems are good for demand that doesn’t depend on conditions that is, it is ‘independent’ and thus they are dependable sources especially when uncertainty exists in the environment. (Hirano, 2009) Just in time inventory (JIT) is one of the models of inventory and it follows the pull system that can react quickly to demand changes. It is a production strategy which aims to improve business models by increasing their return on investment (ROI) by reducing the time and costs associated with inventory. The process is built around the importance of signals which exist between processes and which will signal the production process when to produce the next part. The signals also called ‘Kanban’ are simply visual and they show shelf space etc. JIT inventory management can lead to improvement in the organ ization of manufacturers and enhances quality, efficiency and investment. The focuses are on the quality, flow of products and the employees. The process is such that depletion in stock will signal personnel to order in new stock and overall inventory reduction is achieved which is the main purpose of this style of management. (Dennis, 2002) This will lead to lower costs of warehousing; however JIT has other elements involved such as the fact that it is not independent of the other proponents of the system. Manufacturers have tried to better this process over the years by forecasting better such as using methods such as trailing. JIT seems to be an appropriate plan for companies...A push system however can meet the requirements of a system which needs large inventory which would be difficult for a pull system to manage. Just in time inventory (JIT) is one of the models of inventory and it follows the pull system that can react quickly to demand changes. Good information system Manufacturing resource planning (MRP) is a push method of inventory management. MRP and JIT compared Since JIT doesn’t allow for pushing of products visibility in JIT is less than in MRP system where forecasting allows for visibility. MRP process also protects each part of the process of operations from being disrupted and therefore it is a more proactive process as compared to JIT approach. The main sacrifice a firm has to make in JIT management system is the inventory and capacity. However in MRP system the stock of extra products allows the system to be continuous and work all the time including when it is not needed. JIT is also a more decentralized approach to operations management which isn’t the case with MRP system or any other system for that matter. A hybrid system Firms were using MRP push model initially and then they started looking towards pull systems like JIT.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF AN ARTICLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF AN ARTICLE - Essay Example Abstracts are meant to let readers know what to expect in an article they are about to read; this article, according to the author investigates, in form of a case study, a control framework resulting from a strategic lean manufacturing initiative in a natural environment. The author suggests that, a theoretical framework is developed that assists in comprehending accounting practices, organizational structure, and control choices associated with lean manufacturing (Kennedy & Widener 2008). Additionally, the abstract is very clear about numerous bidirectional and intervening relations that the article identifies. The introduction is very informative, extensive and well researched; it makes reference to various studies by different authors. It thus offers a vivid introduction to various concepts of business systems such as total preventive maintenance TPM, JIT, and TQM. It is interesting how the author dedicates time to offer readers with a vivid background on lea accounting coupled with a clear mention of the aims and objectives of the study (Kennedy & Widener 2008). Finally, the introduction outlines how the article would be subdivided from literature review, to a discussion on methodology, case study description, summary and

Fiction compare 2 stories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fiction compare 2 stories - Essay Example In the story The Land of Sad Oranges, the narrator’s character is a round character. While the narrator begins the story as a child, by the end of the story, the narrator’s childhood has departed, never to come back again. The story is about a family that leaves Palestine to Lebanon. When the journey starts, the narrator thinks that â€Å"we were just like anybody who goes to spend the festival season every year in another city† (Kanfani 137). But as they travel, the destruction of the family follows along with its occupation to Lebanon. Eventually, the family makes its way to a refugee camp in a lorry with all its belongings. As the family of the narrator bundles up in a lorry, the land of the family is left behind forever. The defeated Arab armies crush any hope of the family that still lingers. The family notices the harsh reality of permanent exile from Palestine staring in its face. The narrator’s father decides to grab hold of the matters and out of anger, perplexity, and emotional outburst attempts to kill his own children as well as himself which however, does not happen eventually. While the story ends in failure and defeat at this point, the narrator does mention how the whole situation impacted him and took his childhood away from him in these words, â€Å"As I left the house behind, I left my childhood behind too. I realized that our life had ceased to be pleasant, and it was no longer easy for us to live in peace† (Kanfani 141). What follows in the last few lines of the story is a depiction of an altogether change in attitude of the narrator that provides evidence of his lost childhood. The narrator tells how he tried to behave in suitable ways understanding the complexity of the situation that had snatched his childhood from him; the narrator no more asked for food when he was hungry, remained silent while the father shared his difficulties, and simply smiled and obeyed when he was told to go to the mountain and not return till the midday. â€Å"You were huddled there, as far from your childhood as you were from the land of oranges† (Kanfani 141). In the story A Family Supper, the character Wantanabe is a round character. In spite of being a man of honor and principle, Wantanabe could not sustain the grief of having his firm collapse and thus took not just his own life but also the life of his whole family including his wife and two daughters. As a man of principle, Wantanabe should have understood that the collapse of his firm was a natural incident and had nothing to do with his family. As the narrator’s father tells him, â€Å"After the firm’s collapse, Wantanabe killed himself. He didn’t wish to live with disgrace† (Ishiguro). This suggests that for Wantanabe, taking the life of his whole family and committing suicide was a less disgraceful act or was not disgraceful at all as compared to having his firm collapsed. Had Wantanabe been a man of principle , he would never have displayed such cowardice and lack of courage that he did by taking the life of his family and committing suicide. Wantanabe’s act of killing his family and committing suicide makes the audience think that Wantanabe was never a man of principle in the first place. However, the narrator’s father says that he had known and worked with Wantanabe as a partner for seventeen years, which is definitely a

Relationship between energy consumption and economic development

Relationship between energy consumption and economic development In the recent years China has rapidly developed into one of the largest economies in the World. China has shifted from the 108th to the 72nd rank on the World Development Index. The economic growth, industrialization and the urbanization have resulted to an annual average real GDP growth rate of 8 to 9 percent. The real income per capita has increased in this period, with the factor 10. This impressive growth however also implies higher environmental pressures despite new technological improvements of resource utilization being applied. The enormous growth of China results in substantially higher energy consumption. This goes hand in hand with higher CO2 emissions. The primary energy consumption in China has grown at an annual average rate of 6% between 1965 and 2008, with the first measurement of 183 oil equivalent million tonnes in 1965, and the latest measurement of 2003 MTN in 2008 (BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2009). The emission emitted by China in 2007 was 6.466 MTN and 6.897 MTN in 2008, indicating an increase of 6.4%. The global CO2 emission has increased from 31.007 MTN in 2007, to 31.578 MTN in 2008. This represents an increase of 1.6 %. The share of China in the global emission in 2008 according to this information is a stunning 21,8% (BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2009). The projection of the IPCC (2007) is that the CO2 emission from energy consumption between 2000 and 2030 are estimated to increase with 40 to even 110%. The CO2 emissions in China has exceeded the maximum amount stated in the Kyoto Protocol, which is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change focusing on preventing global warming. China has not been able to meet 10 of the 13 critical points in the current five-year plan, with targets for air and water pollution control (The World Bank, State Environmental Protection Administration, P.R. China, 2007). The overall environmental pollution costs in China are estimated to be about 5.8% of the GDP in China. For example it is estimated that in 2003 the acid rain which is mainly caused by fossil fuel emissions, has caused over 44 million dollars (30 billion Yuan  [1]  ) damage to crops, and an estimated 10,3 million dollars (7 billion Yuan) in damage to building materials in China (The World Bank, State Environmental Protection Administration, P. R. China, 2007) It is clear that economic growth contributes to a higher CO2 emission and global warming. Is this economic growth sustainable in the long term due to the impacts on air pollution? Is it worth the growth of China given the limited amount of resources available and the need for environmental conservation? Countries will have to find a balance between their consumption and economic growth. Various studies have analyzed the relationship between economic growth and the emission of CO2. For instance B. Friedl and M. Getzner (2003) found a significant relationship during the period of 1960 and 1999, with a structural break in the seventies due to the oil price shock. J. B. Ang (2007) found a dynamic relationship between pollutant emissions, energy consumption and economic development. They point out that the more energy is used in the economy, the more CO2 emissions are released, which in its turn has a quadratic relationship with the output in the long run. This indicates that output growth is a reactor for CO2 emissions and energy consumption. This relationship between output and the pollution level has been widely documented as the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The EKC hypothesis indicates that the relationship between economic development and the environment is shown as an inverted U-curve, whereas environmental damage first increases with income and over time will stabilize, and eventually declines. China is one of the main driving forces of global warming, with the highest emission value and the highest economic growth rate. Since energy consumption has a direct impact on the level of environmental pollution, China is an interesting country to examine. Amidst the animated debate of global warming and sustainability, the energy consumption will be related as an input factor for economic activity along with the emission of CO2 in China. Other influences which are included are price indices, total gross fixed capital, population and the technological developments. I will make use of the measurements published by the following databases excluding the Chinese Statistical Yearbooks due to incoherent results with these databases; the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the World Development Indicators database, The Conference Board Total Economy database and the World Intellectual Property Organization database. The outcome of the research could contribute to the debate of the mitigation of global warming and should imply that China has to speed up the technological developments to create or implement energy efficient technologies to reduce the CO2 emissions in line with the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. This implies that policies should be reformulated to stimulate the use of alternative resources and technological developments. The nexus of energy consumption economic development CO2 emission, with price indices, total gross fixed capital, technological development and population. Price indices and fluctuations Investment in Pollution Treatment and RD Technological development Air pollution: CO2 Emission Economic Development: GDP TGFC Consumption Total Energy Consumption: Oil / Gas Coal / Nuclear / Hydro-electricity Households Population Literature review/Background There are two strands of literature relevant in the nexus of energy consumption à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ economic development à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ CO2 emission. The first strand focuses upon the relation between energy consumption and economic development. More energy consumption leads to higher economic development through the enhancement of productivity. The second strand focuses upon the relation between economic growth and CO2 emission. The latter strand represents the interrelation between energy consumption and the increase of CO2, which is well known and obvious. Various studies indicate that more energy use results in more CO2 emission (J.Ang, 2007). Thus any movement of energy use will positively react to the emission level. 2.1 Strand 1 Energy consumption and economic development  [2]   This first strand divides the causality between energy consumption and economic growth in three possibilities. Firstly the causality that runs from energy consumption to economic growth. Secondly the causality that runs from economic growth to energy consumption. Thirdly bidirectional causality which implies there is an effect, or no effect in either direction between energy consumption and economic growth. 2.1.1 Unidirectional from energy consumption to economic growth The traditional neo-classical model based upon economic growth uses the energy inputs as an intermediate. The factor inputs land, labor and capital are used as basic factors, in order to neutralize the function of energy in production. Energy is an intermediate function; however it is the consumption of energy that causes economic growth. Energy remains an important aspect in the determination of income. National economies therefore depend upon the use of energy and will be affected by changes in energy consumption. Therefore the elasticity is expected to be high between energy consumption and economic growth, since it is an important aspect. Jia-Hai Yuan et al (2008) tests the causality between output growth and energy use in China at both aggregated total energy and disaggregated levels as coal, oil and electricity consumption and find that there exists Granger causality between the electricity and oil consumption to GDP. However they do not find Granger causality from coal and the total energy consumption of these three energy inputs to GDP. Soytas and Sari (2007) found the same Granger causality from electricity consumption to GDP in Turkey. Previous research by Soytas and Sari (2003) examining the G-7 countries, indicated an unidirectional relationship running from energy consumption to GDP in Turkey, France, Germany and Japan covering the period 1950-1992. Stern (1993) also found a Granger causality from total energy to GDP, employing a four-variable model with capital, labor, energy consumption and GDP. A.E. Akinlo (2006) results indicate that energy consumption is co-integrated with economic growth within seven out of eleven African countries, using an autoregressive distributed lag bound test (ARDL). The study also implies that there exists a significant long run effect on economic growth in four African countries. Fatai et al. (2004) showed that energy consumption has a significant positive effect on economic growth in Indonesia and India. C. Lee and C. Chang (2007) report a nonlinear relationship between energy consumption and an economic growth in Taiwan for the period 1955-2003, as inverse U-shape. They state from their previous research that in the long run energy unanimously acts as an engine of economic growth, and that energy conservation may harm economic growth. J. Ang (2007) found a unidirectional causality from the increase of energy and the output growth in the short run. The existence of unidirectional causality has some policy implications; it could suggest that a country is dependent upon the inputs of energy to establish economic growth. The restriction of energy may directly lead to lower economic growth or even a restrain and could result in a fall in employment or equivalently an increase in unemployment rate (N. M. Odhiambo 2009, A.E. Akinlo, 2008). It is difficult for governments to implement energy conservation policies as a part of a green future, and face the trade-off between energy consumption and growth. Environmental conservation will constantly be a part of every economic development process. Policies to conserve energy could be quotas, taxes, subsidies or the promotion of efficient use of technology (C. Lee, C. Chang, 2007) 2.1.2 Unidirectional from economic growth to energy consumption On the other hand I expect the increase in GDP will influence the energy consumption in various ways, firstly through an increased energy-intensity (energy consumption per unit of GDP) in households due to more spendable income. Also the private consumption of fuels in households and private car use seem to have a significant effect on the emission level (C.Lee and C. Chang, 2007). Population can thus be an indicator for the amount of energy consumption, whereas air pollution levels could be directly associated with population. The article of Lee and Chang (2007) discusses that the energy consumption in Taiwan has risen sharply due to rapid economic growth and higher living standards. Secondly increases in income will increase activities as investment, which is an important input factor for production processes. If the economy grows, this will result to an increased demand for energy will increase. Pioneering in this strand is the article of Kraft and Kraft dated in 1978. It is one of the first articles to examine the phenomenon. They found a unidirectional causality running from output to energy consumption for the United States during the period 1947à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1974. Jia-Hai Yuan et al (2008) is consistent with this result and found Granger causality in the short run from GDP to total energy consumption, coal and oil consumption. However there does exist causality from GDP to electricity consumption. Soytas and Sari (2003) found in their panel research a unidirectional relationship from economic growth to energy consumption for Italy (1950-1992) and Korea (1953-1991). Total gross fixed capital can be an indicator for the amount of energy consumption. This form of unidirectional causality from GDP to energy consumption can imply that a country is not solely dependent upon the energy consumption or energy input, leading to economic growth. Therefore policies can be implemented to conserve energy sources with no adverse or small effects on the economic growth (N. M., Odhiambo, 2009, A.E., Akinlo, 2008) 2.1.3 Bidirectional between energy consumption and economic growth The third view implies that there exists a bidirectional relationship within the nexus of energy consumption and economic growth. N. M. Odhiambo (2009) and A.E. Akinlo (2008) found this bidirectional causality. Soytas and Sari (2003) found this relationship for Argentina (1950-1990) within the G-7 countries. A.E. Akinlo (2008) analyzed three African countries in the short and long run show that this relationship holds for developed countries, while developing countries endure economic growth through more energy consumption only in the short run. C. Lee and C. Chang (2007) empirical findings suggest that energy consumption and economic growth are positively interrelated under a certain threshold. They stress the implications for future economic growth to the extent of resource scarcity. The finding of causality in both directions implies that energy conservation policies will have an impact on economic growth. The other bidirectional causality is known as the neutrality hypothesis, which implies that energy conservation policies do not affect economic growth. The insignificant impact in Taiwan beyond the mentioned threshold indicates that conservation policy is effective. The conservation policy could be implemented through energy taxes, new subsidies, quantity restriction and promoting efficient usage of energy such as innovation. However such environmental protection policies will lead to high costs and avoidance of rules. Eventually this will results in control expenditures. 2.2 Economic growth and CO2 emission The more energy consumed the more CO2 emission will follow up to a level of total clean technology. The direct relationship between energy consumption and the amount of CO2 emission is logical and empirically proven in several articles. The relationship between economic growth and CO2 emission is a more interesting one. Well known in the literature is the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Studies show that the EKC describes the relation between income and several local pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and water pollutants. This relationship is an inverted U-curve, whereas environmental damage will first increases with income and over time will stabilize to its maximum. The curve will eventually decline, creating the inverted U-shape. It appears that economic growth can solely lead to environmental degradation (Soytasa Saria 2007). This implies that at low-income levels we might see a positive relation between national income and pollution, and at high levels of income we can trace a negative relation between the two variables (Liu, X. 2005). This non-linear relationship between environmental pollution and income levels can be explained by three factors: scale, composition, and technique effects. The scale effect refers to the increase in pollution along with the size of the economy. The composition effect refers to the change in the production structure and reallocation of resources, from an agriculture based economy to an industry and service based economy. The technique effect refers to the used techniques of production which may reduce the amount of pollutant emissions. (J. Ang, 2007) B. Friedl and M. Getzner (2003) analyzed the CO2 emissions in a small open economy (Austria) and found a cubic relationship between GDP and CO2 emissions in their research for the period of 1960 and 1999, meaning that the relationship has two inflection points, and change direction twice. They concluded that the Austrian emission and GDP are cointegrated and run parallel. J. Ang 2007 shows that there is a quadratic relation between CO2 emissions and output in the long run (parabola), in France for the period of 1960 to 2000. The results suggest that output growth causes CO2 emissions and energy consumption in the long run. A. Jalil, S.F. Mahmud 2009 analyzed the EKC hypothesis for China in the period 1971à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬2005 with an ADRL framework. From their analysis there appears to be causality from economic growth to CO2 emissions, and a significant effect of energy consumption on the CO2 level. 2.3 Other factors affecting energy consumption and economic growth Another import factor is the research activity or investments in RD to reduce the amount of emissions. The common believe is that improvement in productivity and research activity will lead to a reduced amount of emission. An example is the Investment in technical upgrades and transformation in China in the electricity sector which increased sufficiently in 1990 and accelerated further since 1996. This should be one of the most important economic impulses driving energy efficiency improvements (L. Wu et al.2006). They also point out that the rising prices of energy since 1993 have provided strong economic incentives for the industry to decouple energy use from economic growth. This has driven the incentive to technically innovate. This refers to an economy that is able to sustain economic growth, without also experiencing a worsening of environmental conditions. However contra dictionary is the case of Taiwan, which has substantial changes in the structure of production in the economic sectors and enormous increases in development. This has led to a rapid increase in energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. Cole et al. (2008) show that productivity improvements and research activity will reduce the amount of emission. The article of J.Ang 2009 indicates that there exists a declining trend in CO2 emissions with the increase in research activity in China. From the data covering 1953 to 1999, it becomes clear that more innovation and RD activity will lead to beneficial influences in decreasing CO2 emissions. Policies created to decrease emission levels will lead to more research activity which will contribute directly through improved production techniques. This will decrease emissions and it will indirectly enable China to absorb green technology more efficiently from other countries. It is also likely that more efficient use of energy may require a higher level of economic development. That is, better economic performance may be a catalyst for energy efficiency, which makes energy consumption and economic development jointly determined (J. Ang 2007) This is based on the premises that different countries are in different stages of development. There are different effects on the developing process and impacts on the energy and growth relation. Two countries with similar levels of technology and factor endowments may have significantly different industrial structures as a result of past investment decisions. Their aggregate capital levels may be similar, but differences in the composition of capital may lead to differences in the opportunity cost of reducing emissions. A regression of only emissions on income may lead to a misspecification and bias, without controlling for the industrial structure. Therefore the total gross capital formation is important to include (Liu, X. 2005) Besides innovation and total gross capital formation, reforms of energy pricing systems in China since 1993 led to a dramatic rise in fuel prices and consequently to an economic decreased condition in the electricity generation sector, petroleum refinery sector and coal mining sector. B. Friedl and M. Getzner (2003) directly relate this structural break in energy consumption as a result, to a lower CO2 emission in Austria after the oil price shock. The recent price hikes stresses the importance of energy policies for conservation (R. Mahadeva, 2006). Theoretically if the fuel price increases, it will stimulate energy conservation behavior if the demand is relatively elastic. Practically the effect of rising prices can be seen by the oil price shock from 1973, which did not fail to leave its mark on CO2 emissions. Economic growth in this period slowed down, and due to changes in energy policies, such as rationalizing private consumption of fuels by restricting private car use, CO2 emissions dropped to about 57 million MTNE in 1975.

Art and Literature in MacLachlan’s Arthur For the Very First Time and Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Together :: Compare Contrast Comparison

Art and Literature in MacLachlan’s Arthur For the Very First Time and Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad Together When it comes to an artist, the perspective of the environment will be very different from individual to individual. This leads to the difference in technique and style When art and literature are put together the picture adds to the words and shows what the literature is describing, rather than just something to look at. Although Lloyd Bloom’s illustrations of MacLachlan’s, Arthur For the Very First Time and Arnold Lobel’s, Frog and Toad Together can not compare to the famous Leonardo, the art in each is very unique. Bloom gives very sharp, detailed drawings, almost like a photo, where as Lobel gives loose, cartoon like drawings. These two books are very different in terms of reading level, which allows Bloom to create more detailed and real life drawing, where as Lobel can get away with a less life orientating, rounded picture, almost like a cartoon. Bloom’s illustrations stay consistent throughout the book with vibrant, life oriented drawings. The black and white, pencil drawn pictures, create almost an exact replica, like a photo, for an older audience which leaves little to the imagination. In the book there is a picture of two children sitting by a pond. There is so much detail in the picture that you can see underneath the water if you look hard enough, along with both children’s reflection in the water. There is an incredible amount of detail which is put together by small amounts of shaded sections and very fine touches of the pencil. This all brings the realism of the picture in order. Realism shows through when the text is read. This book is fiction but very well could be non fiction. It isn’t a pretend book, there aren‘t people with blue hair or even frogs that talk. The amount of detail in the book’s words go along well with the amount of detail in the pictures. The pictures bring and add to the real life situations of the story, and complement the realism of the words. Lobel’s pictures in comparison, are poor drawings and weak in technique. They lack specific detail , like small markings and create an overall round picture. This book was intended for an audience of grades 1-3, much different from the upper level MacLachlan book. Its use of colors and earth tones are dull.

Reaction Paper on Piaget’s Learning Theory Essay

Cognition is defined as the process of learning that includes perception, memory, judgment and thinking. It is also the basis of Jean Piaget’s theories on learning. He was able to identify the different stages of cognitive development by interviewing and observing children of different ages in gathering the data to which he was able to formulate his theories. He was more concerned on the wrong answers given by children in tests given to them in school by their teachers and used them as a tool to be able to identify the different characteristics manifested by children of different ages and saw them as more significant to a child’s intellectual development. Piaget presented four learning stages as observed from different age brackets of children and each stage is necessary to reach the later periods of cognitive development. First is the sensorimotor stage which can be observed from birth to two years old. Second is the pre operational stage evident in children age two to seven years old. Third is the concrete operational stage apparent from age seven to eleven years old and lastly, formal operations stage seen from age eleven to sixteen years old. Although, some critics say that these changes may not occur at the same stages and that some characteristics may have been actually perceived by a learner at an earlier stage or age but these observations can only be seen to some extent and not in most cases. Clearly, Piaget’s study offered us direct recognition of the level of comprehension a learner is capable of. Furthermore, in determining these different stages, we are able to understand and characterize now the patterns of intellectual capabilities of infants, children and adolescents and eventually help us to be able to effectively communicate to them and see to it that their learning environment is right to their age. The practicable means and ways of giving them the appropriate kind of learning should be considered and hence their learning capabilities are thoroughly sharpened by not forcing them to move on to higher stages of development yet, as a way to advance their minds to something that they are not ready for. As teachers in the future, we should not be able to discriminate the level of thinking of learners, instead we need to focus on the enhancement of their intellectual ability by reaching out to them and adjust to their set of minds to be able to efficiently offer them the best kind of learning suitable for them.

To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Essay Example

To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Essay Example To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Paper To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Paper to complete the formation of a bloc of several European countries hostile to the interests of the democratic countries of Eastern Europe and most particularly to the interests of the Soviet Union. 8 (italics original). Some historians since have been sympathetic to this view; W. A. Williams argues that the postwar atmosphere degenerated into hostility in large part because of American insistence on an open-door policy of total free trade between nations, rather than, offer[ing] the Soviet Union a settlement based on other, less grandiose, terms. 9 However, this argument is predicated on the assumption that eastern Europe was already in economic isolation from the west, whereas in fact this was a state of affairs forcibly created by the USSR. Therefore, if the Marshall Plan did increase postwar tensions this was only because of the actions already taken by the Soviet Union; without communist domination of east Europe, a plan to revive shattered economies in former warzones would not have had the degenerative effect on international relations which it evidently did have. In this sense, the Marshall Plan was a response to the Soviet aggression which had caused Cold War tensions to increase, rather than an ipso facto cause of antipathy itself. There are other examples given of where the west was responsible for an increase in superpower hostility following 1945 however. One episode deserves special mention: US interference in the Italian general election of 1948. American and British officials were concerned that in the war-ravaged countries of France and Italy, economic hardship might result in communist parties coming to power through free elections; by 1946 such organisations already seemed poised to become the largest single political forces within those countries. 0 These worries quickly disappeared in the case of France, but when an election was scheduled for April 18th 1948 in Italy, the Italian communist party, at two million members the largest outside of the Soviet bloc, was poised certainly to win a large enough share of the vote to make it impossible to keep them out of a governing coalition, and possibly an outright majority. The United States decided to intervene. A massive letter-writing campaign was organised, resulting in some ten million letters being sent by Italian-Americans to relatives in Italy arguing against a vote for the communists, and the CIA in conjunction with the Catholic Church ran a huge anti-Marxist propaganda campaign. In addition, some $2-3 million was distributed by the CIA to various anti-communist political parties in Italy. When election day came the communists were humiliated, their share of the vote halved from what they had achieved in the 1946 local elections. 1 This is not the place to discuss whether American actions were justified, but undoubtedly the precedent set by the Italian effort, and its resounding success, resulted afterwards in the United States being far more willing to engage in anti-Soviet activities elsewhere, and this case is therefore cited as an instance where the actions of America contributed to the breakup of the Grand Alliance. Another reason sometimes given is the American monopoly on nucl ear weapons in the aftermath of World War Two. On July 16th 1945, the largest man-made explosion in history took place at the Alamogordo test site in New Mexico,12 and the United States was immediately catapulted into a position of total military superiority. Though the Soviet Union had ended the war with colossal conventional armed forces, the atomic bombings of Japan in August of that year left the Russians in no doubt that their on-paper ally had become indisputably the most powerful military force in the history of the world. It has therefore been argued that this obvious fact caused Stalin and his government to feel threatened and bullied by the United States, and that this was the reason for the antagonistic nature of postwar negotiations. Williams again writes: Particularly after the atom bomb was created and used, the attitude of the United States left the Soviets with but one real option: either acquiesce in American proposals or be confronted with American power and hostility. 13 Undoubtedly the US was sometimes guilty of flaunting its nuclear dominance: American officials evidently thought that the Paris Peace Conference of July 1946 would be far more productive were it to be immediately preceded by two nuclear weapons tests. 14 On the other hand, it is quite possible that considerations of American nuclear power did not factor significantly into Soviet thinking. At the Potsdam conference (July-August 1945), more than one western official observed Stalins surprising calmness, even nonchalance, when told by President Truman that the US was in possession of a new weapon of unusual destructive force. Only later did it transpire that not only did the USSR have an atomic weapons programme dating back to 1942 but that, due to the laxness of the Manhattan Projects managers respecting its wartime ally,15 the Soviets had spies passing nuclear secrets to Moscows scientists. 6 Stalin was therefore fully aware that the United States monopoly on atomic weapons would be only temporary, and therefore that this need not be factored into long-term Soviet strategic thinking. Furthermore, the aggressive actions taken by the USSR in the postwar period (see below) show no signs of restraint by Russian leaders on account of the destructive capability of the Americans nuclear arsenal. The Berlin Blockade (June 1948-May 1949) took place and concluded before the Soviets successfully tested a nuclear bomb of their own on August 29th 1949. 7 The USSRs leaders seem to have calculated, probably correctly, that the United States wanted to avoid war with the Soviet Union at almost any cost; after August 1949 this only became more true as MAD thinking began to gain widespread acceptance. The more orthodox interpretation of the postwar period is that the alliance collapsed primarily because of the actions taken by the Soviet Union after the defeat of Germany, especially concerning the areas of Europe occupied by soldiers of the Red Army. At the Yalta conference in February 1945, only months away from the defeat of Germany, major disputes arose over the fate of European nations such as Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia which had been liberated from German control by the troops of the Soviet Union. The western leaders, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, wanted Stalin to conduct free and fair elections with the aim of establishing self-governing sovereign entities, but were under no illusions that the Soviet leader intended to turn them into friendly buffer states, and probably totalitarian one-party regimes at that. With respect to Poland especially, Stalin had already shown his contempt for national democracy movements by allowing the Wehrmacht to crush the Warsaw uprising in August-October 1944, and had a pro-Soviet puppet government ready and waiting to take over from the German authorities. 18 Previous Soviet treatment of Finland and the Baltic states gave every indication needed of how Stalin would react to attempts made at installing democracy in other countries. Section V pledged all of the allied powers, including the Soviet Union, to the earliest possible establishment through free elections of Governments responsive to the will of the people, and asserted the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they will live. 19 It does not need to be repeated that Stalin never had any intentions of carrying out the requirements of this passage. Immediately after the war the leaders of national communist parties, many of whom had spent the pre-war and wartime years in exile in Moscow and had long been subdued under Stalins whip, began their gradual accumulation of power. Invariably, the communists would contest a free-ish election under the auspices of the Red Army, win a minority of the vote (as little as 17% in Hungary and never more than 38%, in Czechoslovakia), and then agree to take part in a coalition government. Under pressure from Stalin, their rivals would agree to give communists control of ministries of justice and of the interior, which would then be used to disappear political opponents. In Poland the Soviet puppets methods were less subtle: a massive campaign of violence and intimidation preceded the first postwar elections in 1947, and the communists claimed 80% of the vote. 20 Despite assertions by some historians that western leaders handed over Eastern Europe to the Soviets at Yalta, short of a full-scale war with the USSR there was little if anything Roosevelt and Churchill could have done to prevent Stalin from turning eastern European countries into satellite states. Nevertheless, the dictators flagrant violations of the USSRs promises at Yalta created a chasm between the former Allies even before V-E Day, and is therefore frequently cited as the primary reason for the collapse of the Grand Alliance. As Roosevelts biographer Conrad Black has written, The issue of whether the British and Americans (and Frances) foremost ally would be Germany or Russia would be determined by whether Stalin could resist the temptation of enslaving Eastern Europe. 21

English as a National Foreign Language Essays

English as a National Foreign Language Essays English as a National Foreign Language Essay English as a National Foreign Language Essay Essay Topic: A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings Woman of Colour Novel English as a National Foreign Language India has two national languages for central administrative purposes: Hindi and English. Hindi is the national, official, and main link language of India. English is an associate official language. The Indian Constitution also officially approves twenty-two regional languages for official purposes. Dozens of distinctly different regional languages are spoken in India, which share many characteristics such as grammatical structure and vocabulary. Apart from these languages, Hindi is used for communication in India. The homeland of Hindi is mainly in the north of India, but it is spoken and widely understood in all urban centers of India. In the southern states of India, where people speak many different languages that are not much related to Hindi, there is more resistance to Hindi, which has allowed English to remain a lingua franca to a greater degree. Since the early 1600s, the English language has had a toehold on the Indian subcontinent, when the East India Company established settlements in Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai, formerly Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay respectively. The historical background of India is never far away from everyday usage of English. India has had a longer exposure to English than any other country which uses it as a second language, its distinctive words, idioms, grammar and rhetoric spreading gradually to affect all places, habits and culture. In India, English serves two purposes. First, it provides a linguistic tool for the administrative cohesiveness of the country, causing people who speak different languages to become united. Secondly, it serves as a language of wider communication, including a large variety of different people covering a vast area. It overlaps with local languages in certain spheres of influence and in public domains. Generally, English is used among Indians as a ‘link’ language and it is the first language for many well-educated Indians. It is also the second language for many who speak more than one language in India. The English language is a tie that helps bind the many segments of our society together. Also, it is a linguistic bridge between the major countries of the world and India. English has special national status in India. It has a special place in the parliament, judiciary, broadcasting, journalism, and in the education system. One can see a Hindi-speaking teacher giving their students instructions during an educational tour about where to meet and when their bus would leave, but all in English. It means that the language permeates daily life. It is unavoidable and is always expected, especially in the cities. The importance of the ability to speak or write English has recently increased significantly because English has become the de facto standard. Learning English language has become popular for business, commerce and cultural reasons and especially for internet communications throughout the world. English is a language that has become a standard not because it has been approved by any ‘standards’ organization but because it is widely used by many information and technology industries and recognized as being standard. The call centre phenomenon has stimulated a huge expansion of internet-related activity, establishing the future of India as a cyber-technological super-power. Modern communications, videos, journals and newspapers on the internet use English and have made ‘knowing English’ indispensable. The prevailing view seems to be that unless students learn English, they can only work in limited jobs. Those who do not have basic knowledge of English cannot obtain good quality jobs. They cannot communicate efficiently with others, and cannot have the benefit of India’s rich social and cultural life. Men and women who cannot comprehend and interpret instructions in English, even if educated, are unemployable. They cannot help with their children’s school homework everyday or decide their revenue options of the future. A positive attitude to English as a national language is essential to the integration of people into Indian society. There would appear to be virtually no disagreement in the community about the importance of English language skills. Using English you will become a citizen of the world almost naturally. English plays a dominant role in the media. It has been used as a medium for inter-state communication and broadcasting both before and since India’s independence. India is, without a doubt, committed to English as a national language. The impact of English is not only continuing but increasing. english in India | |Officially English has a status of assistant language, but in fact it is the most important language of India. After Hindi it is the most | |commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in India. Indians who know English will always try to show | |that they know English. English symbolizes in Indians minds, better education, bette r culture and higher intellect. Indians who know English | |often mingle it with Indian languages in their conversations. It is also usual among Indians to abruptly move to speak fluent English in the | |middle of their conversations. English also serves as the communicator among Indians who speak different language. English is very important in| |some systems – legal, financial, educational, business – in India. Until the beginning of 1990s, foreign movies in India weren’t translated or | |dubbed in Indian languages, but were broadcast in English and were meant for English speakers only. The reason Indians give such importance to | |English is related to the fact that India was a British colony (see Europeans in India). |When the British started ruling India, they searched for Indian mediators who could help them to administer India. The British turned to high | |caste Indians to work for them. Many high caste Indians, especially the Brahmans worked for them. The British policy was to create an Indian | |class who should think like the British, or as it was said then in Britain â⠂¬Å"Indians in blood and color but English in taste, in opinions and | |morals and intellect†. The British also established in India universities based on British models with emphasis on English. These Indians also | |got their education in British universities. The English Christian missionaries came to India from 1813 and they also built schools at primary | |level for Indians in which the language of instruction was local language. Later on the missionaries built high schools with English as the | |language of instruction which obliged the Indians who wanted to study to have a good knowledge of English. The British rulers began building | |their universities in India from 1857. English became the first language in Indian education. The ‘modern’ leaders of that era in India also | |supported English language and claimed it to be the main key towards success. Indians who knew good English were seen as the new elite of and phrases, the Indians also have their own | |unique English. The Indians and the Indian English language press uses many words derived from Indian languages, especially from Hindi. Other so that they could pronounce them. Even and made them part of their English. Two examples of such changed words are currey and sari. |[pic] | Top of Form [pic] [pic] Bottom of Form The sole reason behind English language in India been laid such accentuation lies manifested in the fact that India had once extensively served as a British colony. When the so-called British Empire began its domination upon India, they had indeed scouted for Indian intermediaries who could aid them to administer India more graciously. Reviewing the then Indian scenario, the English rulers turned towards higher caste Indians to work for them. As such, numerous high caste Indians, principally the Brahmans began to work under British imperialism. The British policy was to fashion an Indian class who should think and act like the British, or as it was stated then in Britain, Indians in blood and colour but English in taste, in opinions and morals and intellect. Consequently pretty much alarmed with the status of English language in India, the British law-makers started establishing universities based on British models with sole stress on English. As an understandable result, these `high-classed` Indians began to receive their elementary education in their country, finally leaving for Vilayat (Great Britain or England was referred to by this term during pre-independence times in India) for higher education in British universities. Commencing from the early 1600s, English language has had a firm foothold on the Indian subcontinent, when the British East India Company had established settlements in Madras, Kolkata and Bombay, which were subsequently declared as Presidency towns, merging the erstwhile princely states. The historical background of India has in fact never been too distanced from routine usage of English. India has had a prolonged exposure to English than any other country which utilised it as a second language, its idiosyncratic words, idioms, grammar and rhetoric circularising gradually to charm every Indian state, region, its populace, their habits and inherent culture. In order to secure the spread of freshly-introduced English language in India, the English Christian missionaries began to arrive in India from 1813, a significant move by British administration linked with India and its English counterpart. These Christian missionaries also had erected schools at primary level for Indians, in which the medium and language of instruction was local language. Later on, the missionaries went on to build high schools with English as the language of instruction which accommodated the natives who wanted to study, to possess a sound knowledge of English. British rulers began building their universities in India precisely from 1857, post the historical and fate-deciding Sepoy Mutiny and transferring of power from East India Company to direct annexation under Queen Victoria`s sovereignty. English had thus become the first language in Indian education. The `modern` leaders (also hugely esteemed as the social and reformist men from India, aiming with the view to take India to sublime heights like Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Swami Vivekananda) of the erstwhile era in India also backed English language and claimed it to be the basic key towards accomplishment. Indians who were enlightened in good English, were deemed as the new social class or elite of India. Umpteen new schools were established in which the medium of education was English. According to British laws, the language of instruction at university level was mandated to be English and thus schools that accentuated upon English, were preferred by motivated and go-getting Indians. Even after Indian Independence, English language remained the principal language of communication in India. Officially it was given a status of an `assistant language` and was supposed to terminate officially after fifteen years of India`s independence. However, this very enigmatic yet lucid language still persists as the authoritative language of India. It is universally and unanimously hypothesized that the widespread study of English language in India was imposed upon Indians by Lord Macaulay with the solitary aim of serving the end of British administration in India. Travelling a substantial journey, from being a language doused in colonialism, English has come a long way as the language that has lent India an edge over countries where English is rendered the status of a `foreign language`. India has since Independence to the contemporary times, become a `resource consortium` of English a language whose pre-eminence remains unquestionable. English language usage in India plays a cardinal role in the fields of education, administration, business and political relations, judiciary, industry and virtually in umpteen other domains and is therefore a ticket to social mobility, higher education and better job opportunities. In the gradual and tremendous rising context of English language in India, English literature penned by Indian authors has made its everlasting mark in world literature. So much so has been this writing impact, that Indian English Literature has presently turned into an authentic genre, which does not seem to stop in far future. Among the Indian writers in English, R. K. Narayan chooses to write in English because he himself says, It is the only language I am really familiar with. It is the only language which is transparent and takes on the hues of the country or region where the story set. R. K. Narayan makes use of popular Tamil and Sanskrit words generously in his novels; for example: bonda; sadhu; rasam; Samadhi; asura and so on. The flexibility and adaptability of English had indeed fascinated him and for this reason he had chosen it as his only medium of story-telling. Besides R. K. Narayan, Indian writers in English language comprise a luminous list of Amitava Ghosh, Amit Chaudhuri, Kiran Desai, Anita Desai, Arundhati Roy and various other graduating geniuses. In India, where more than eighteen different state languages coexist, English suffices as the essential connection between people speaking umpteen mother tongues. Thus, more than two hundred and fifty years later, when the very first British trader had stepped onto Indian soil, the number of Indians who aspire to learn and make use of English is still escalating steadily. Just like the final icing on the cake, the impact of English language in India is not only continuing to enlarge, but also increasing in leaps and bounds. The number of English newspapers, journals and magazine has also been on the increase for a long time. In fact, Indian English is a distinguished dialect of English, just like British Received Pronunciation or Australian English, or Standard American. To some extent, the strict British dialectical English has today taken a backseat. Indian English possesses a motley of distinctive pronunciations, some idiosyncratic syntaxes and a significant amount of lexical variation. Officially and according to Constitutional law makers, English language in India is lent the status of a subsidiary language after Hindi, but is, in effect, the most important language used in the country. After Hindi, it is the most extensively spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language too. Truly, in almost every sphere of life, English language has turned out to be the `identity representation` each and every next day. In this Indian English context, the missionary schools that were first started by British missionary workers, have today spread their wings to fly high towards supreme reputation. As such, the Christian missionary schools emphasise on English to be considered as the first language, which helps a student to graduate towards better educational standards in colleges and universities. However, this very trend of English language in India is wholly dedicated towards making this `foreign` language out-and-out Indianised. For most of these students, English is mandatory as the first language and it becomes easier for them to communicate in international levels. Just like the American or Australian population, or even the Britishers who possess their exclusive English words and phrases, Indians also have their own unique concept of English. Indians and the Indian English language that is utilised by nationalised news sections in newspapers have been deduced from Indian languages, especially from Hindi. Other than this, there sometimes arises a dilemma with the Indian accent, which is at times difficult for non-Indians to comprehend. There also exist some Indian pronunciations that do not exist in non-Indian languages. During the British ascendancy in India, they also had encountered problems with that and they induced some changes in Indian words to make pronunciation easier. English language in India, since then, started to make its still-continuing impact upon the country`s burgeoning population, who, alternatively, started using these modified words and made them part of their vocabulary. Two illustrations of such changed words are curry and sari. Leaving aside the commercialisation and globalisation of English language as it is treated in India, the language also serves for solemn administrational purposes. India has two national languages for federal and central purposes, comprising Hindi and English. Hindi is the national, official and basic linking language of India. English is esteemed as an associating official language. The Indian Constitution also officially approves twenty-two regional languages for official purposes. Scores of distinctly dissimilar regional languages are spoken in India, which further share umpteen characteristics such as grammatical structure and vocabulary. In India, English language fundamentally serves two functions. Firstly, it furnishes with a linguistic tool for the administrative coherence of the country, making people who speak different languages to become unified and united. Secondly, it acts as a language of more panoptic communication, encompassing an enormous variety of people, embracing a vast area. It intersects with localised languages in particular spheres of influence and in public domains. On a more general term, English language in India is utilised amongst Indians as a `link` language and also serves as the first language for umpteen well-versed citizens. It also serves as the second language for several who speak more than one language in India. English language is that bond that helps bind the many slices of the society together. Also, English is a linguistic bridge between the major countries of the world and India. English occupies special national status in India; it possesses a special place in the parliament, judiciary, broadcasting, journalism and in the education system. The significance of the ability to speak or write English has increased significantly of late, due to its becoming the de facto standard. Learning English language in India has become well-accepted for business, commercial and cultural reasons and particularly for internet communications throughout the world. English is a language that is deemed a benchmark not because it has been accredited by any `standard` organisation, but because it is extensively employed by many information and technology industries and recognised as being standard. The `call-centre` phenomenon has aided in stimulating an immense expansion of internet-associated activity, grounding the future of India as a `cyber-technological super-power`. Modern communications, videos, journals and newspapers on the internet make use of English and have made `knowing English` indispensable. Maintaining a positive attitude to English as a national language is fundamental to the consolidation of populace in Indian society. There would practically appear to be no discrepancy within the community about the authority of English language skills in India. By making thorough usage of English, one can gradually become a citizen of the world almost effortlessly. English also plays a prevalent role in the media. It has endlessly been used as a medium for inter-state communication and broadcasting both before and since India`s Independence. India is, without any doubt, devoted to English as a national language. The impact of English is not only continuing but increasing towards a secured next day. ited my fathers family in Canada when I was ten years old. His parents and sisters had migrated to Montreal from India in the seventies. For a young excitable child of ten the sights and sounds of this new place were fascinating, but what was amusing was the way in which my familys Canadian friends perceived India. Other than the stereotypical notions they had about elephants, snake charmers, and maharajahs, they were surprised that I spoke fluent English. When I told them its the only language I speak other than a smattering of Hindi there were even louder exclamations! Today, India is well recognized globally for its vast talent pool and well-educated professionals, but still there is only a dim understanding of what this vast country encapsulates. Indian English is something that many foreigners are unaware of and even if they are aware, they are unsure about its credibility. English in India is a legacy from the British who colonized the country and their language permeated through some of the most important parts of society: the government, the media, the education system, the legal system, and gradually the social sphere as well. India is a vast nation and in terms of number of English speakers, it ranks third in the world after USA and the UK. An estimated 4 percent of the population use English and even though this may seem like a small number that is about 40 million people. This small segment of the population controls domains that have professional and social prestige. Though it is closer to British English since it originates from that style, with the influx of globalization American English has definitely had an impact on the youth as well as in the professional sphere. However, it can neither be classified as American or British English as it intermingled with other Indian languages and emerged with its own distinct flavor. This has made several scholars realize that it cannot be equated with either. English in the Administration and Media: Though it is not classified as one of the 15 languages of India, English remains the associate official language along with Hindi, which is the official language. The reason for this is the large number of languages and dialects spoken in India and that several people are unfamiliar with Hindi. Though it lacks the symbolic power to be chosen as the sole official language, it is used widely in communication. The English press in India began serious journalism in the country and English language newspapers are published in practically all states. Not only has it impacted print media, but broadcasting media as well. There are several English news channels as well as several outstanding media courses offered at various institutions, which focus on journalism in English. The Education System: In higher education English is the premier prestige language. Careers in any area of business or commerce, or within the government, or in science and technology require fluency in English. It is taught in schools ranging from the most elite private schools to small government schools because only this language is an acceptable medium of communication through the nation. The Social Sphere: Other than the more formal sectors of administration, media, and education, English has seeped into the less formal social sphere. It is certainly considered instrumental in terms of having access to information from all over the world and as a key factor for professional success, but it is also very much a part of the educated middle and upper class persons life especially of the youth in India. Now American English is becoming more popular with the educated youth due to the number of American programs aired in India. While bureaucrats and officials continue to use archaic convoluted sentences, which are relics of British English, the younger generation is comfortable and familiar with American English. Here, I make the distinction not between an older and newer form of the language, but between a more formal and casual style. Several people speak English with their friends, and people get introduced to each other most often in English. Over half of all personal letters are also written in English. Indian Writing in English: India is the third largest English book producing country after the US and the UK, and the largest number of books are published in English. Creative writing in English has been an integral part of the Indian literary tradition for many years. Many believe that is a challenge for Indian novelists to write about their experiences in a language, which is essentially â€Å"foreign†. However, Indian English has been used widely by several writers who have been able to successfully use the language to create rich and invigorating literature. India is rich with tastes, sounds, and sights that are any writers dream and stylistic influence from local languages is a particular feature of Indian literature in English. Many perceive English as having released the local languages from rigid classical traditions that could be an obstacle while writing. It is Indian writers in English who have truly showcased India to the world not only in terms of understanding the country better, but also by establishing that the language no longer represents the western concepts of literary creativity as its ranges have expanded. The Future of English in India The language has already been well established in the country and has acquired its own independent identity. With the number of foreign investors flocking to India and the growth of outsourcing, English has come to play a key role in professional relationships between foreign and Indian companies. Familiarity with the differences between American and British English has definitely grown as much business communication is carried out according to the language style with which a client is comfortable. Though many may perceive the accent, terminology, and conversational style as â€Å"funny†, in reality it is just a different English that cannot simply be equated with either American or British English. Indians are familiar with both types of English, but Indian English has acquired its own character in a country which is a melting pot of various cultures, people, and tEnglish, Tamil: Ideology vs. Reality (3 of 3) Bernstein states that the way a society selects, classifies, distributes, transmits and evaluates the educational knowledge it considers to be public, reflects both the distribution of power and the principles of social control. Habermas and Bernstein, among others, provide some crucial rubrics to understand the complex political processes that underpin the medium of instruction issue in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and similar Indian states which carry strong political and ideological overtones. Habermas regards ideology as ‘systematically distorted communication ’ and the ‘suppression of generalizable interests,’ where structural features in communities (including language communities) and societies operate to the advantage of the dominant and the disadvantage of subordinate groups. Ideology here is taken to be the values of dominant groups in society that permeate the social structure, with or without the consensus of all. Power, through ideology, is omnipresent in language. And language is a principal means for the operation of power. Going by Gramsci’s notion of hegemony – domination by consent of all parties, including the dominated – language is intimately involved in the manufacture of ideological consent and in turn where power resides. Tamil Nadu provides for a very insightful case study in this regard. The MOI issue in Tamil Nadu is bound by issues of power, domination, legitimacy and social stratification. Historically, the Tamil region has had an uncomfortable relationship with the Indian union and it was one of the only states that problematized the notion of having a national language – to be used for all official communication and to be used as the MOI in all public schools – and was successful in undermining the idea altogether. But it also gave birth to a political discourse that was obsessed with a rigid Tamil identity. The Dravidian governments have insisted, since then, on the necessity to preserve Tamil heritage and its purported uniqueness. They have expressed concerns over Tamil losing its stature among its own populace. Even if one does not problematize essentialist notions such as Tamil heritage, it is untenable to assume that maintaining Tamil as the primary medium of instruction in public schools would achieve that goal. The government has not done any studies to establish if public schools have produced more ‘authentic Tamils’ than private schools. Both in terms of feasibility and ideological apprehension that Tamil will lose its foothold among its people, the governments’ concerns seem unfounded. The Dravidian parties (DMK and ADMK) have, over the decades, used Tamil to exploit a populist sentiment that is not necessarily reflected on people’s economic aspirations and the means to achieving them. However, this populist sentiment is not peculiar to Tamil politics alone. The mainstream media, especially films, exhibit a dichotomous behavior in which people who speak ‘pure’ Tamil considered to be true to their identity while indirectly maintaining that those who speak ‘good’ English are sophisticated. (This observation is all the more relevant for a state like Tamil Nadu. ‘Symbolic violence’, Bourdieu says, is when structures of domination in a society are reproduced by imposing cultural values claimed to be universal. English, in this context, maybe argued as an elitist cultural value thrust on the poor and socially backward by creating an illusion of empowerment while simultaneously delegitimizing Tamil’s role in achieving t he same. But it is in direct contradiction with macro, external realities such as the difficulties faced by Tamil medium students when they enter the university level and the labour market. The underlying problem is not whether or not English is desired by all sections of the society but whether the State should maintain its exclusivity. Conclusion: English linguistic capital continues to be linked to cultural and economic capital and to reproduce the existing stratification of society and schooling. This practice has only become stronger over the years; the recent economic growth driven by the IT industry has re-invented the elite status that English language has long held in India. Students’ performance in private, English medium schools has also legitimized the power exerted by English, further increasing its desirability. Therefore, it is unrealistic to hope that students from Tamil medium schools will be able to compete on a level playing field in the future. The MOI issue in Tamil Nadu, as interpreted through the linguistic capital perspective, maybe interpreted with Giddens’ structuration theory: where agency (parental aspiration) combines with structure (parents’ cultural background and the school system) to produce and reify social structures and behavior. The successive governments lead by the Dravidian parties, by the way of restricting the MOI to Tamil in most of the public schools, has repressed the agency of those who need it the most – the poor and the backward classes. The political elites of Tamil Nadu – primarily from the Dravidian parties – have created a landscape that has normalized several false dichotomies. The purported significance of a Tamil identity, it can be argued, is no more than a hegemonic thrust of a moralistic ideology that marginalized the fundamental aspirations of a people who were already politically and economically disenfranchised, especially the SC/ST. The DMK’s vision of empowering the masses by reclaiming the Tamil identity has been farcical at best. It laid a heuristic obstacle by creating dead ends to students who were indirectly forced to go through Tamil-medium schools. Tamil’s virtual absence in universities and colleges stand testament to this claim. The language policy is underpinned by the oversimplification of Tamil ethnic identity to medium of instruction in schools. A point that needs to be contrasted with the fact the much of the modern exposure of Tamil, as a language and a cultural entity, has been fuelled by social and technological development rooted in English. A State that envisions an egalitarian society – that makes policy reforms to accommodate lower castes by quotas and other such reservation systems – should also take into account the interests of the wider public in other critical issues. Regardless of what percentage of people choose English-medium schools – if given the choice – the state government’s role in forcing them one way or the other is questionable. In a state with such visible stratification based on caste structures, the State needs to democratize the educational system in a way that reflects the current priorities of the people Difficulties with English language People may find English a challenge because it is not their first language they have a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia their previous education developed only basic English skills they are more used to speaking than writing in English they learned a style of English writing that does not fit the UK’s usual academic style they have a combination of these difficulties. Types of language problem Language problems often fall into two main categories. Difficulties in understanding can cause particular problems when reading the style of language used in a course listening to others, either in group sessions or telephone tutorials trying to respond to spoken or written questions encountering colloquialisms, idioms and cultural references (for example from current television programmes) that are used in online forums or other discussions making use of examples used in explanations. Difficulties in writing for others to read may relate particularly to punctuati on or the use of paragraphs making mistakes with verb tenses, or with subject and verb agreement using the wrong word or putting words in the wrong order errors in spelling inability to write at length in order to construct essays or reports using a style which does not suit UK academic work. Level 1 OU study provides opportunities for students to use the English language to show that you know and understand principles, concepts and terms central to your subject use your knowledge and understanding to describe, analyse and interpret defined aspects of your subject know about and begin to address issues and problems central to your subject develop your skills in communicating information accurately and ppropriately to your subject, purpose and audience develop your skills in finding, selecting and using information or data in defined c Learning to speak English well may be the best thing you can do to improve your life. You can get all this if you speak English well. Get acc ess to knowledge What are you interested in? Is it science? Music? Computers? Health? Business? Sports? Todays media - such as the Internet, television, and the press - give you almost unlimited access to knowledge about your favorite subjects. After all, we live in the information age, dont we? Theres only one problem. Most of this knowledge is in English. Here are some examples of knowledge you can use if you know English: Most pages on the Web. Thats over a billion (1,000,000,000) pages of information! Its amazing that learning just one language gives you access to almost all knowledge on the Internet. Books - on any subject, from all over the world. Read books by British or American authors, and books translated from other languages. Whatever youre interested in, you can read about it in English! The press. Only English-language magazines and newspapers can be bought in every part of the world. You dont have to search for Time, Newsweek, or the International Herald Tribune! Science. English is the key to the world of science. In 1997, 95% of the articles in the Science Citation Index were written in English. Only about 50% of them were from English-speaking countries like the USA or Britain. (source) News reports. Watch international television networks, such as CNN International and NBC. They broadcast news much faster, and more professionally, than smaller, national networks. And you can watch them everywhere in the world. Communicate with people We like to call English the language of communication. Why? Because it seems all the people in the world have agreed to use English to talk to each other. About 1,500,000,000 people in the world speak English. Another 1,000,000,000 are learning it. (source) 75% of the worlds letters and postcards are written in English. (source) Almost all international conferences and competitions are conducted in English. For example, the Olympics and the Miss World contest. Diplomats and politicians from different countries use English to communicate with each other. English is the main language of organizations like the United Nations, NATO, and the European Free Trade Association. If you can communicate in English, you can: Contact people from all over the world. Talk about your ideas and opinions on Internet discussion groups. Send e-mail to interesting people. Learn about their life and culture. Travel more easily. Communicate with people wherever you go - English is spoken in more than 100 countries (source). Ask directions, have a conversation, or ask for help. Who knows, maybe English will save your life someday! Push your career forward If you want a good job in business, technology, or science, get out of that armchair and start learning English now! (If you already have a good job, start learning before you lose it! ) Knowing English will let you: Put excellent knowledge of English on your CV. Get your dream job, and earn more money. Gain technical knowledge. English is the language of technology, especially high technology like computer science, genetics, and medicine. If youre going to read about technology, youll probably have to do it in English. Learn computer science. Read technical articles without difficulty. Or write your own articles! Be a world-class businessman (or -woman). Its simple. International business is done in English. And all business today is international. So if you want to play, you have to know English - to contact other businesspeople, go to conferences, read international business newspapers and magazines, etc. Become a better scientist. Contact scientists from other countries, go to international conferences, visit academic centers abroad. Learn about new scientific discoveries by reading papers, books, and magazines. Use your computer more effectively. Most computer applications are in English, so you will understand them better - and become a better employee. Learn new skills for your job. The section Get access to knowledge explains how English helps you learn. Enjoy art like never before English lets you feel the culture of the world like no other language. With a good knowledge of the English language, you can do w onderful things: Watch American and British films in the original. Once you try it, youll never go back to dubbed versions! Read great books. Every famous book was written in English or it was translated into English. There is an amazing number of titles - from classic plays like Hamlet to modern thrillers like Jurassic Park. Enjoy English-language music more. Believe us: music is much better if you can understand the words. English is easy to learn English is not only the most useful language in the world. It is also one of the easiest languages to learn and to use: Simple alphabet - no special symbols such as e or a. Type in sweet, part, film on your computer. Now try su? (German), [pic](Polish), [pic](Russian). Which is easier? Easy plurals - simply add s to a word. One car, five cars; one telephone, two telephones There are very few exceptions. Words are easy to learn. In French, its la fille and le chien. In German, its das Madchen and der Hund. In English, theyre just a girl and a dog. And thats all you need to know. Short words. Most of the basic words are short: run, work, big, go, man. Long words are often shortened: sitcom = situational comedy, fridge = refrigerator, OS = operating system. Speaking English saves you time. 🙂 Words dont change. But in many languages, one word has many forms: English: The man is blind. German: Der Mann ist blind. English: This is a blind man. German: Das ist ein blinder Mann. English: I see a blind man. German: Ich sehe einen blinden Mann. Call everybody you. You can say Do you speak English? to your friend or to your teacher. In other languages, you have to use the right word for the right person. In English, everybody is equal. 🙂 English is everywhere. You can easily access English-language television, music, websites, magazines, etc. You dont have to learn from boring textbooks. You can learn and use your English at the same time. Using your English is especially important because it increases your desire to learn. Get satisfaction English is not only useful - it gives you a lot of satisfaction: Making progress feels great. Well never forget the moment we discovered we could speak with Americans or watch TV in English. You will enjoy learning English, if you remember that every hour you spend gets you closer to perfection. Using English is fun, too, because every sentence you speak or write reminds you of your success. English makes you a more powerful, happier person. It is not difficult to imagine some situations where knowing English gives you a great feeling. develop your understanding and use of the resources available to help you learn, and begin to develop as an independent learner develop, as appropriate, practical a nd professional skills and awareness of relevant ethical issues plan your study pathway to link your learning with your personal and/or your career goals.