Scientific Glass Case

In the case study of Scientific Glass case, the production, distribution and inventory management systems of the company Scientific Glass case have been discussed. Scientific Glass Inc, is a mid-sized company which was growing at a fast pace. The company is trying to resolve its inventory management issues as it is blocking a lot of working capital hindering the growth and expansion of the organization.This case study critically analysis the various alternatives for improving the inventory management system. The proposed alternatives have been evaluated and a final conclusion has been drawn. The case analysis has been divided into 3 sections. In the first section the issues that the company is facing have been highlighted. In the second section, the issues have been analysed and finally in the last section the various proposed alternatives have been discussed thus arriving at a conclusion.IssuesThe company was facing some serious inventory and financial issues which was hindering the growth and expansion of the company. 1) The executives had identified a disturbing trend. The inventory balances were increasing substantially, which was blocking the capital required for the growth of the company. 2) The company has exceeded its target debt to capital ratio of 40%. 3) The company was focussing on increasing the customer fill rate to 99% and maintain it at the expense of high inventory levels and thus exhausting the financial resources. 4) The rules with respect to maximum inventory levels were violated by the warehouse managers and sales executives, but no strict action was taken in order to prevent it.Analysis of the issuesIn the year 2008, the company initiated an effort to improve the customer fill rates by placing more products closer to large customer concentrations by increasing the number of warehouses operated by the company. The fill rate of the company at the time was 93% and the company aimed to increase it to 99%. However, as a result, the warehouse ma nagers began ordering more than the requirement in order to ensure fulfilment of the target for their region. This action increased the inventory levels to a large extent thus blocking the capital and increasing the overage costs. The company’s warehouse network had been expanded in order to expedite the delivery time.Hence, inventory levels had to be maintained in each of these warehouses to meet the company’s fill rate expectation. Although the company’s policy mandated that no warehouse could maintain more than a 60 day supply, the policy was often violated. Moreover, the trunk stock allocated to individual sales representatives counted against this total. In effect, the employees were not working purely in the interest of the organization. Rather the warehouse managers were more concerned how to maintain the high delivery levels of their own warehouse. And the sales executives did not want to bring down their trunk stock levels.Hence, the bigger picture of e fficient inventory management and effective funds utilization while maintaining a high fill rate was being lost. Hence, it was imperative for the company to modify its policies of inventory management and be stricter in order to ensure that they are being adhered to. The company also needs to work upon strategies to reduce the shipment and delivery costs without bringing down its fill rate.Alternative OptionsAs can be observed, the company never emphasized too much on reducing the inventory costs until it started facing financial crunch inhibiting its expansion plans. Prior to that, it was more concerned with increased sales and customer satisfaction. However, the executives realized they will neither be able to increase sales nor maintain customer fill rate without addressing the inventory issues. Hence, they came up with some new ideas after a lot of brainstorming. The distribution network had to be modified to make the inventory management system more effective. This could be ach ieved in primarily two ways. Change in the warehouse structureChange in the existing policies or implementation of new ones Warehouse StructureIn order to change the warehouse structure the options of centralization, outsourcing were considered as opposed to the existing structure of decentralization. Decentralized Structure with 8 warehouses: No changes would be required and the regional warehouses would supply their respective territories except in case of stock outs. Centralization with one warehouse: Centralize the North American warehousing with one warehouse in Waltham by closing down the regional warehouses.In this way, the inventory requirements could be pooled to meet the demand. Centralization with two warehouses: The demands of the West and the East could be pooled respectively and supplied from warehouses in each of these regions. Outsourcing: Outsourcing the inventory function to Global Logistics who would be responsible for warehousing, inventory management, and order fulfilment (including picking, packing and shipping). This would enable the company employees to focus more on sales and expansion of the company while ensuring that the inventory management is in able hands.Policy ChangesSome policy changes were proposed as an outcome of the brainstorming session: Sufficient inventories only to meet customer fill rate of 99% and avoid surplus inventory Discontinuation of trunk stock maintenance by sales executives Daily reports and weekly summaries of inventory movement for every warehouse Periodic physical audits and control procedures for all warehouse stocksEvaluation of the Alternative OptionsThe alternative options proposed can be evaluated on the following grounds: Inventory Levels: The inventory levels to be maintained should be sufficient to abide by the policy of 99% customer fill rate. There is no mention of ordering cost, hence that need not be taken into account while determining the inventory level. Since each of the warehouse managers would prefer to keep an extra buffer, the inventory level increases with the increase in the number of warehouses. Hence, with respect to this parameter, the lesser the number of warehouses, the lower is the cost. Hence, Centralization and Outsourcing can be considered as good options.Delivery Time: The Company had an efficient delivery system where the products were ready for shipment within 3 days except in the case of stock outs. This was applicable for 1 warehouse, 2 warehouses or 8 warehouses. After that, the Winged Fleet ensured shipment to the client within 3 days at most. However, the new shipment company being considered Global Logistics offered an additional facility of 1 day premium delivery apart from the 3 day regular shipment. This facility could be considered as a differentiating factor and provide and added advantage to the company. This option would also include 2 warehouses one in Waltham and the other in Atlanta, thus ensuring minimum stock outs.Operating Costs: The operations manager suggested that the company would need to spend around $10M to replace the worn out equipment and produce stock sufficient enough to satisfy the future sales growth. This $10M can be assumed to be distributed across the 8 warehouses. Hence, with the decrease in the number of warehouses, the expected cost would come down. Hence, centralization or outsourcing would be a better option in this respect. Moreover, with outsourcing the sales force also need not be maintained by the company and hence the cost of sales force will be nil. FillRate: The Company has a policy to maintain 99% customer fill rate which is much higher than the industry average of 92%.SG is trying to achieve this at the cost of blocked working capital, thus inhibiting the growth and expansion. However, SG can work towards bringing down the FillRate without compromising on the customer satisfaction levels. Given the underage and overage cost as 10% of gross margin and .6 % of unit cost respective ly he FillRate for the two typical products has been calculated for in house warehousing and outsourcing. From the result it can be concluded that the FillRate on outsourcing inventory management to Global Logistics is higher than in-house inventory management.These figures indicate two things. Firstly, if the company is ready to lower the fill rate of 99%, the outsourcing fill rate of 96% is higher than the current structure. This would lead to higher inventory levels and thus higher costs. On the other hand, if the company sticks to its 99%, the inventory cost on outsourcing would be lower. Additionally the company can opt for different fill rates for different products and thereby reduce the inventory cost for some of its products.Shipment cost: The total shipping cost on outsourcing inventory management to Global Logistics turns out to be $26.25. If the company went with the current system of decentralization with 8 warehouses, the cost turns out to be $20.60. If SG centralizes warehousing with one warehouse in Waltham and uses Winged Fleet as its shipment company, the cost turns out to be $23.60. From this perspective, GL seems to be a more expensive option and decentralization seems to be the best option.Miscellaneous: If the company outsourced its inventory management to Global Logistics, the company’s senior managers would be able to focus more on increasing sales, understanding emerging customer needs, and developing the next generation of the firm’s products. Additionally the company need not be concerned about the warehouse managers’ tendency of maintaining more than 60 day supply, as the warehouse management would be under GL. However, the negative side of outsourcing is that the goods have to be shipped from Waltham to Atlanta before delivery. As far as the policy changes are concerned, the sales executives should be allowed to maintain trunk stock as it might decrease the time responsiveness.ConclusionFrom the above parameter s, outsourcing and central warehousing are favourable options in some cases, where as decentralizing is favourable in others. With respect to the inventory levels and operating costs, centralization is a very good alternative. This includes both internal warehousing and outsourcing. However, if we look at the delivery time, outsourcing gives an added advantage with the 1 day premium shipment facility provided by the Global Logistics. The Fill Rate factor favours outsourcing only in case the company sticks to the policy of 99%.The outsourcing to GL, also provides the advantage in quantitative terms such as additional time for the senior executives to concentrate on growth and expansion rather than be involved in the nitty gritties of inventory management. The shipment cost decreases with the increase in the number of warehouses, i.e. with decentralization compared to outsourcing or centralization. From the above points, it can be observed that most of the parameters are in favour of outsourcing the inventory management to Global Logistics.In addition to the above discussed alternative of centralization, decentralization and outsourcing, SG can also consider the option of appointing established distributors with  good infrastructure at a zonal level. This would relieve the company of managing regional level wareshouses, at the same time reducing the operating costs of warehouse management. The company would be able to dedicate additional funds for expansion. The distributors would not stock additional inventory than required to meet the 99% customer fill rate, as it would block its own capital. Being a regional player, the distributors would have better control and knowledge of the market.

Boston Tea Party Essay

On December 16, 1773, a monumental event took place that was crucial to the growth of the American Revolution. This event was known as The Boston Tea Party, taking place in Boston, a city in the British colony of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Patriots were in immense disapproval on how parliament was trying to monopolize the market on American tea importation granted to the East India Company (Boston Tea Party). The East India Company was a failing British corporation. This Company was on the verge of bankruptcy. They had millions of pounds of unsold tea that sat in warehouses. The idea was to persuade English and colonial consumers to buy East India Company tea to save one of Britain’s largest corporations. In order to make this happen, British Parliament proposed the Tea Act of 1773. The Tea Act allowed the East India Company to sell through agents in America without paying the taxes normally collected in Britain, which allowed the company to undersell even smugglers in the colonies (David Goldfield). What drew major controversy with the Tea Act was that it retained the three pence Townshend duty on tea imported to the colonies. The colonists objected to the Tea Act. They believed that this act violated their rights to â€Å"No taxation without representation,† which meant that they would only be taxed by their own elected representatives and not by the British Parliament that did not represent them. Regardless of what the colonists thought, consignees were selected in Boston, New York, Charleston, and Philadelphia, and then 500,000 pounds of tea were shipped across the Atlantic in September. The first tea ship, Dartmouth, reached Boston November 27, and two more were sent shortly after that. There were several meetings held demanding that the tea be sent back to England with the duty not paid for. Tension was rising when patriot groups tried to persuade the consignees and the governor to accept this approach. On December 16th, citizens, some disguised as Mohawk Indians, pushed toward Griffin’s Wharf and boarded the tea ships (Boston Tea Party). In a course of three hours they dumped three hundred and forty two chests of tea into the harbor, turning it into a teapot (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). The chests held more than 90,000 pounds of tea, which would cost nearly $1,000,000 dollars today (Boston Tea Party). There were certainly several participants and witnesses to the accounts of what occurred at the Boston Tea Party. Although all of the participants were taking part in the same event, their memories of their accounts do seem to differ. The first thing that I noticed was the number of participants. David Kinnison, the longest surviving participant from the Boston Tea Party, claims that there were only 24 men involved (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). His statement matches up well with Samuel Cooper, a participant that was just 16 at the time, who claims that there were around 20 men (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Then you have John Andrews, claiming that there were around 200 citizens dressed as Indians. Another thing that seems unclear is the way the ships were taken over (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). George Hewes, a Boston shoemaker and participant, states that they were divided into 3 groups, one for each ship. Joshua Wyeth, also a participant, who was only just 16, also states that they took to the three ships at the same time. On the other hand, the Massachusetts Gazette states that they worked their way from ship to ship, after emptying one ship they would move to the next. There are many differences in the accounts of what exactly happened at the Boston Tea Party, which I think helps decipher the truthful accounts from the fabricated ones (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Most of the witnesses that were actually a part of the Boston Tea Party had testimonies that were exceptionally similar. I believe the only thing that may have caused them to be slightly different would be the fact that it was a little over half a century later when they were trying to recollect the events. I also think that the participants swearing to secrecy had an impact on some of the misleading information, such as the discrepancy on the number of participants. Most of the participants had mentioned around 20 men being involved, when in fact the number was found to be a lot greater than that. The participants in the destruction did not even acknowledge each other even when boarding the ships, breaking open the chests and dumping the tea, so of course they are not going to be truthful about how many citizens were actually involved. I also believe that some of the information misinterpreted for fabrication might be due to the participant not writing their story themselves. George Hewes account of what happened was written by him, Joshua Wyeth’s account was recorded from his words, Samuel Cooper’s came directly from him also. All of these accounts seemed to be relatively similar; where as accounts that were retold by biographers may have changed along the way. Also, participants stories did not coincide on what time the event was actually over. John Andrews wrote that before nine o’clock every chest was destroyed, but Samuel Cooper’s account placed the end of the destruction at ten o’clock (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Considering that Samuel Cooper had a role in this momentous event, I would give him the benefit of the doubt as to telling the truth of when the event actually came to an end (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). Another person who played an interesting role in the Boston Tea Party was Paul Revere. Revere felt strongly about the movement toward political independence from Great Britain. He was a very well rounded artisan and intellectual. Revere was a silversmith whose work brought him in close contact with patriots like John Hancock and Samuel Adams. He used his talents to support the colonial struggle against Britain. Revere soon assumed the role of a leader, along with Adams, of the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty were a secret patriotic organization formed in 1765 to prevent the Stamp Act (Paul Revere). The Sons of Liberty also organized the Boston Tea Party. Revere was also one of the many patriots who dressed up as an Indian and took part in the Boston Tea Party Protest against parliamentary taxation without representation (Boston Tea Party Historical Society). After the Tea Party, Revere was sent by the citizens of Boston to deliver news of the party to the other colonists in New York and Philadelphia. When he returned, he was appointed one of 25 men by the citizens of Boston to stand guard over the tea bearing vessels, in order to prevent the overexcited townspeople from doing further damage to the ship (Facts on Paul Revere). I would say Paul Revere played a significant role in the Boston Tea Party; he played the part of a ringleader and was a very influential role model. The acts that he participated in would not be condoned by Britain. The Boston Tea Party ultimately captured the attention of Parliament and produced a furious reaction. A lot of people in America and also in Britain were surprised about the destruction of property in the Tea Party. Parliament decided that this epic event demanded an immediate display of power. In the spring of 1774, parliament passed a series of totalitarian measures to be known as the Coercive Acts. These acts included the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston until Bostonians paid for the tea and uncollected duties. The Massachusetts Government Act, this act stated that members of the governor’s council and sheriffs would be appointed rather than elected and limited the number of town meetings that could be held without the governor’s prior approval. The Administration of Justice Act, which allowed any British soldier or official who was charged with a crime to be tried in England, where they would most likely receive a slap on the wrist. The Quartering Act of 1774 permitted the army to lodge soldiers in any civilian building if necessary. All of these acts were in response to the Boston Tea Party and attempts of Britain to gain royal control. Most colonists referred to these acts as the Intolerable Acts rather than the Coercive Acts, they viewed these acts as a threat to liberty in the colonies. The spirit of protest began to spread, more and more colonists became politicized. They began to realize their common interests as Americans and their differences from the British. America was starting to rebel, but had not yet launched a revolution (David Goldfield). Although, the acts they were taking were starting to have a major influence on America. The Boston Tea Party effected America in many ways. There were a lot of different factors and rebellious acts that eventually snowballed into war, but I would say the Boston Tea Party was the most significant. The passing of the Coercive Acts and parliaments refusal to revoke them led to a great deal of disgruntlement from the colonists. The Boston Tea party most definitely sparked the Revolution, which may have otherwise been delayed or never happened at all.

Sports Development Continuum

P1 describe three examples of the sports development continuum, from three different sports M1 compare and contrast three examples of the sports development continuum, from three different sports, identifying strengths and areas for improvement Sports Development Continuum Foundation: means the early development of sporting competence and physical skills (e. g. throwing, catching, and hand-eye co-ordination) upon which all later forms of sports development are based.Without a sound foundation, young people are unlikely to become long-term sports participants. Participation: refers to sport undertaken primarily for fun, enjoyment and often, at basic levels of competence. However, many very competent sports people take part in sport purely for reasons of fun and health & fitness. Performance: signifies a move from basic competence into a more structured form of competitive sport at club or county level, or indeed at an individual level for personal reasons.Excellence: is about reaching the top and applies to performers at the highest national and international levels The Golf Foundation reports that its adapted and competitive golf offering for schools is proving a big hit with teachers and pupils. The Foundation’s ‘HSBC Golf Roots’ programme in schools is gathering significant momentum in 2013, as 39 out of 46 County Local Organising Committees have selected an HSBC Golf Roots competition for the current academic year as part of England’s School Games curriculum.This high proportion is second only to athletics, and ahead of traditional school sports such as football, cricket and netball. Participation: refers to sport undertaken primarily for fun, enjoyment and often, at basic levels of competence. However, many very competent sports people take part in sport purely for reasons of fun and health & fitness. An example for participation would be SNAG golf. Performance: signifies a move from basic competence into a more structured form of competitive sport at club or county level, or indeed at an individual level for personal reasons.Elite: is about reaching the top and applies to performers at the highest national and international levels. Football Development Centre’s These centres can be found in 70 colleges across the country for players who are above average to compete with players of a similar ability. Here they work in an environment with people who can develop their progression to achieve their highest level of performance. Once players have reached a certain level according to the coaches they can be recommended to a school of excellence or academy. Players can attend these centres by invitation only.They would have normally taken part in a Local Football Development Scheme activity in the past. Liverpool Football Club have a talent development scheme starting from their under 10’s going up to under 19’s. †¢UNDER 10-â€Å"age of fun†. †¢UNDER 12-â€Å"age of techniqueà ¢â‚¬ . †¢UNDER 14-â€Å"age of understanding†. †¢UNDER 16-â€Å"age of competitive match play†. †¢UNDER 19-â€Å"age of professional preparation†. This is similar to the Long-term athlete development models devised by Istvan Balyi in 1990 following his work with the Canadian Alpine Ski team in the 1980’s.This was designed to help prepare players to reach the highest levels. It takes about 10 years of training to develop an elite athlete however they don’t need to train for 10 years in one sport. The LTAD state that playing more than one sport over the 10 years is part of the programme. This programme has 6 phases to it. It also helps prepare people for retirement to the sport. These 6 phases are then split into 3 areas: †¢Objective: what the athlete should be able to do at the end of the phase †¢Content: the activities contained within the phase Frequency: how often the athlete should train during the phase. Phase one- FUN damentals Objective: to learn fundamental movement skills. Content: overall development, focusing on ABCS (agility, balance, coordination, speed) to underpin the generic skills used in many sports (running, jumping and throwing). Frequency: perform physical activity five to six times per week. Phase two- Learning to Train Objective: to learn fundamental sports skills Content: Concentration on the range of FUNdamental sports skills, such as throwing, catching, jumping and running †¢Introduction to readiness – being mentally and physically prepared †¢Basic FUNdamentals tactics, e. g. if fielding, net/wall, invasion games can be introduced. (In net/wall games, players achieve this by sending a ball towards a court or target area which their opponent is defending. The aim is to get the ball to land in the target area and make it difficult for the opponent to return it) †¢Cognitive and emotional development are central †¢Skills are practised in challenging form atsFrequency: if there is a favoured sport it is suggested 50% of the time is allocated to other sport/activities that develop a range of skills. Phase three – Training to Train Objective: to build fitness and specific sport skills †¢Fitness training †¢Detailed mental preparation †¢A focus on sport-specific skill development, including perceptual skills (reading the game/tactical understanding †¢Decision making †¢Detailed and extensive evaluation Frequency: for the aspiring performer, sport-specific practice will now be 6-9 times a week Phase 4 – Training to CompeteObjective: to refine skills for a specific event or position Content: †¢Event and position-specific training †¢Physical conditioning †¢Technical and tactical preparation †¢Advanced mental practice †¢All of the above come together and are developed under competition conditions Frequency: training can be up to 12 times a week Phase 5 – Training to Win Ob jective: to maximise performance in competition Content: †¢Development and refinement of all the skills learnt already but with more use in competition modelling.More attention paid to rest periods and the prevention of injury due to heavier load. Frequency: training can be up to 15 times a week (some sports may stop at this phase as this is the highest competitive level) Phase 6 – Retainment For athletes/players retiring from competitive sport, many sports are developing Master’s programmes. An additional phase, â€Å"retainment†, keeps players/athletes involved in physical activity. Experience gained as a competitor can be invaluable, should they move into administration, coaching or officiating.

The impcat of the drug culture on the Rock music industry of the 70's Research Paper

The impcat of the drug culture on the Rock music industry of the 70's - Research Paper Example se of the Soviet Union which effectively brought the Cold War to an end, creating a suitable condition for the society to thrive and prosper politically, economically and socio-culturally. Therefore, the drug culture emerged as a means of assuring stable and healthy living, through fighting diseases and illnesses that were commonly associated with the previous war periods, to give people more freedom to enjoy life (). Thus, many drugs were invented to play different roles, with some targeted at preventing and curing diseases, while others were meant to keep people alert, help people sleep, to lessen their worry and anxiety and alleviate pain (). Therefore, the availability of all sorts of drugs created a wave of optimism in the 1970s society, effectively impacting on the rest of the socio-cultural aspects of the society such as the lifestyles and the music development. This way, songs were written and sang about a variety of drugs, especially those drugs that provoked societal resist ance such as the hard drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana (). These drugs were being resisted by the society owing to their addictive and negative health implications on individuals’ mental and psychological health, yet they were perceived to offer the rest of the drug benefits such as keeping people alert making them feel high and good about themselves, as well as reducing sensitivity and increasing creativity. The influence of such drugs made artists feel inspired, while also removing the inhibitions that would disrupt performance such as tiredness, thus helping to keep the party moving (). Therefore, the influence of the drug culture was the formation of the creation of soundtracks of roll and roll to promote a revolution of celebrating drugs, and the consequent stability, peace and the joy of love and sex that came with the drug culture, in a society that was defined by obsession with wars (). In this respect therefore, the drug culture helped o promote the rock and roll

Religion and Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religion and Science - Essay Example According to Robinson (2010), the caste system was â€Å"abolished by law in 1949, but remains a significant force among Hindus throughout much of India† (par. 2). The system, then, determines and defines the type of profession a person undertakes. Pharmacy today encounters diverse issues which conflict with religious practices. Some religions do not accept prescriptions for contraceptive bills due to abortion related concerns. In an article written by Lagorio (2004, pars. 4 & 5), â€Å"across the country, more and more pharmacists are refusing to fill prescriptions for religious reasons. South Dakota, Arkansas and Mississippi even have refusal clauses on the books. And 13 other states are considering mixing medicine with morality†. The role of pharmacists in current society is critical in ensuring that patients are duly educated on the medications they take. Pharmacists are â€Å"responsible for ordering and dispensing drugs and medications, and advising both patients and doctors about possible drug interactions.   They also consult with patients to make sure that patients understand how to use their prescription drugs as well as which side effects might occur as a result of these medications† (QandAs, n.d., par. 2). As such, they should be objective but respectful of the cultural and religious orientation of the patients they serve. For people who are not covered by prescription insurance plans, the most that pharmacists can do is to determine from among the list of generic medicines which is available at the minimum cost without sacrificing efficacy of the medications. For pharmacists who are faced with the dilemma of balancing religion and science, the advice of Liz Ryan is simply to find another job, if possible. From her article, she averred that â€Å"the issue with pharmacists is trickier, involving, as it does, the uncomfortable implication that the religious beliefs of one group should somehow trump the legal

Please read the second half(starting from chapter 4) of the book ''War Essay

Please read the second half(starting from chapter 4) of the book ''War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning'' of Chris Hedges and pr - Essay Example I can understand why the media would work with the military and lie or over-sensationalize the war. First, it is easier for them to do what the military tells them to do, rather than put up a fight and face what I can only guess is an unpleasant punishment – or at least a one way ticket home. But the press also has hidden motives: war makes them money. When a war breaks out, like when the USA invaded Afghanistan right after 9/11, people were glued to their TVs. People were watching CNN and all the commercials for products that came on in between the latest war updates. Reporters come back from war and write books – just like Chris Hedges did – that make them money. Why is the media not talking much right now about the war in Afghanistan or the war in Iraq? People grew tired of seeing it on their TVs. The wars have become like a TV show that has been on the air for too long and no one watches it anymore. So the media doesn’t report on it much. Where I canno t really agree with Hedges is his belief that Americans see war as entertainment.

Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 10

Strategic Management - Essay Example New entrants in the market, suppliers outsourcing, and operational competitiveness through adopting new technologies like e-supply chain & efficient inventory management resulted into decrease in market share for JZ Benny. Due to these changes, JZ appointed new CEO from rival company with a view to follow and adopt those policies, which competitors are adopting to succeed in the market. New CEO adopted the policy of reduction of management and other staff & even curtailment in employee’s facilities has not resulted into revival of the company. These steps rather resulted apprehensions about job security among employees’. Though CEO had reorganized the JZ and adopted flatter structure and also invested heavily in RFID (Radio Frequency identification), altered outsourcing agencies and; locations but failed to bailout JZ Benny. This situation created an opportunity for market leader Mr. McQueen for possible acquisition of JZ Benny but competition commission laws prohibited it. In the mean time JZ Benny appointed a new CEO John Hammond to revive the JZ Benny. He noticed that negligible cash reserves; more overdraft and low share prices are the major constraints for the revival of the organization. Strategy development is about ‘fit’; that is identifying opportunities in the environment and building strategy by matching resources capabilities to those opportunities. Other argues that the resources and competences of organizations are what are most important because they explain differences between organizations, potential uniqueness and therefore superior performance. They take a stretch view arguing that strategies should be built on the unique competences and resources of organizations, by seeking out market in which such competences have special value or by trying to create new markets on the basis of such competences. There are other considerations too. Organizations have different stakeholders

BSkyB and ESPN Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

BSkyB and ESPN Research - Essay Example The vital objective behind employing an effective system of performance measurement could be stated to enhance the performance and the productivity of a particular organisation. The application of such a system would aid the organisation to serve its respective employees, stakeholders, customers and owners in an increasingly better manner (Johnson, 2006). The implementation of an accurate system of performance measurement would help to bring out the information which would evidently indicate the health along with the future and the present position of a business. The system of measuring the performance of an organisation would provide with necessary and vital information regarding the ways of enhancing the prospects and minimising the challenges posed to an organisation. An appropriate system of performance measurement facilitates an organisation to plan, gauge and manage its overall business performance in accordance with an already set strategy. In other words, it can be stated tha t such a system would facilitate a specific business to attain the aspired results and would also enable the organisation to create shareholder worth (Johnson, 2006). The Balanced Scorecard The system of balanced scorecard (BSC) is considered to be the most broadly employed system of gauging the performance of an organisation in the present day context. This particular system entails the parameters of measuring the performance from few different aspects. These aspects include a customer perspective, learning as well as an innovative perspective, financial perspective and an internal perspective related to the business process (Johnson, 2006). With the aid of the employment of such different perspectives, this system takes into concern both kinds of performance measures that is leading as well as lagging. The consideration of both the kinds of performance measures aids in delivering and ascertaining an increasingly balanced perception with regard to the performance of the organisatio n. The leading indicators entail vital measures like customer contentment, timely delivery, development of fresh products and developing the capabilities of the employees. The conventional lagging indicators take into concern the financial measures like the factor of profitability and increase in the revenue. This system of balanced scorecard is considered to be beneficial and effective for organisations as it facilitates the organisations to bring into line each and every staff level towards a particular strategy for the purpose of carrying it out more successfully (Johnson, 2006). Suggested Balanced Scorecard Measures for BSkyB and ESPN Both the considered organisations i.e. BSkyB and ESPN need to implement the measures with regard to the balanced scorecard system which would aid the organisations to monitor their respective performances. The organisations would need to evidently state its mission statement. After this the strategic purposes in harmony with its mission statement n eeds to be recognised. Determination of the strategic aims would aid the companies to develop a comprehension regarding the role of

MidTerm Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MidTerm - Term Paper Example The language of the text appears to reflect typical speech patterns of a relatively wealthy and educated woman of that time, as is evident in the opening lines, written in the first person, which refer to antiquated concepts such as â€Å"ancestral halls† which have â€Å"something queer† about them (Gilman 1). The descriptive adjectives that the narrator uses to describe the setting are sensuous and exuberant, such as for example the â€Å"delicious† garden (Gilman 1) and the yellow wallpaper which has â€Å"one of those sprawling flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin† (Gilman 2). This sharp power of observation contrasts with the narrator’s vague and hesitant mention of things to do with her husband’s medical work, such as for example the phrase â€Å"So I take phosphates or phosphites – whichever it is†. The narrator describes without irony how her husband calls her â€Å"a blessed little goose,† and the co mbination of her diffidence and his patronizing tone reveals that there is a clear hierarchy within the marriage. John dominates his wife, and she accepts infantilizing epithets as if it they are entirely natural and normal. At times the narrator uses strongly moral or even biblical language, as for example when she describes the wall-paper’s patchy appearance which shows it has been picked off despite the fact that it â€Å"sticketh closer than a brother† (Gilman 3). As the story progresses, the wallpaper assumes an increasingly powerful control over the narrator, and this is revealed in the compulsion that she feels to â€Å"follow that pointless pattern† (Gilman 4) which is endlessly repeated on the wall. Strange female forms appear in the pattern, as if they are trapped behind bars, and the subject matter of the latter half of the story is taken over by musings on the meaning of the paper, and its shifting appearance as the light changes from day to night. T he implications of this point of view are that the story represents the fate of women in general, imprisoned in marital obligation, and not allowed to escape into the fresh air of the world outside patriarchal dominance. As the wallpaper takes over the story, the narrator’s own personality retreats, so that in the end the subject matter is mainly the nocturnal musings of a woman who is losing her sense of self. The narratorial point of view does not change, since the whole story is told through the eyes of the main character, but as the story progresses the subject matter becomes more bizarre. The narrator is becoming one of the imprisoned women in the pattern, and the story shows the step by step descent into this pitiful condition. Clearly the narrator is unaware of the seriousness of this mental decline, since she makes light of the change in her daily routine, and imagines that she sees the woman in the paper creeping about outside the house. This is not a rational propos ition, but it is presented as a factual observation by the narrator, and no doubt makes sense to her. The narrator persona shifts from being an apparently normal woman, who has a vivid imagination and likes writing stories, into an unreliable describer of events. The growing unreliability of the narrative voice makes the ending very difficult to interpret, because there appears to be an element of delusion or

Leader Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Leader - Essay Example (Cunningham 5-6) stated that talent leaders apart from managing talent they also realign individuals goals with the corporate strategy. Secondly, they share organisation’s information and collaborate with the employees to increase performance. Thirdly, they focus on creating a highly skilled internal talent pool to enable easy future succession and replacements. Lastly, talent leaders reward employees based on their performance to boost their morale. The additional elements of talent leadership makes the model unique since it enables an organisation to build and fully utilise its talent pipeline in a way that it can boost an organisation’s performance. Moreover, the additional elements, which reinforce talent management practices differentiates the model above from other talent leadership models, which only focus on improving the core functions of talent management that include, attracting, engaging, retaining, and developing talent. This model is highly recommendable to organisations because it can increase the competency level of the employees, lower the recruitment cost due to high retention level, increase motivation among the employees because of the reward system and prospects of rising up the career ladder. Equally an organisation will have a competitive human capital that can further strength its position within the market thereby giving it a return on the investment made on talent leadership. Lastly, this model can be justified to the chief executive officer stating that it will create high effective and efficient employees who will enable the organisation to attain its strategic

Gender Oppression in Hollywood TV shows from 2000s-present Annotated Bibliography

Gender Oppression in Hollywood TV shows from 2000s-present - Annotated Bibliography Example Here they carried out an analysis to find out more about gender inequality both on the screen and behind the camera. Their findings were as fascinating as they found out that cases of gender oppression are still on the rise in Hollywood. A part from having a considerably small representation in Hollywood, the females are treated with lots of prejudice-given feminine roles, made to be dependent on their male counterparts and can not assume leading roles in these films. Indeed, this article can be of much value to me when conducting a research on the topic. It has a lot of important information which can help me to conduct my research. As these scholars state, gender inequality is still an issue in Hollywood. If properly analyzed, it can help me to understand the extent to which female oppression is practiced in Hollywood. Its findings capture diverse areas that will form part of my research by giving it a baseline for analysis. This article was written by Chloe Beighley and Jeff Smith in 2013. It was aimed at studying the qualitative and quantitative disparities in gender representation in Hollywood shows produced in 2012. To do their research, these scholars opted do use a sample of 7 films from which they would analyze how the male and female genders have been appearing in these shows. After carrying out an extensive survey, they found out that gender oppression is a reality in Hollywood. It has been manifested in a large number of Hollywood shows. Despite occupying a passive position, the female characters are either given stereotypical roles or placed to be under men. In fact, they found out that only 12 shows had female leading characters. The rest of the 55 had men in dominant roles. When conducting a research on Gender Oppression in Hollywood TV shows, I will have to include this article a one o the references. It has a lot of

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Analysis Essay Example for Free

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Analysis Essay Shirley Jackson is a master of suspense. She starts the story The Lottery off by describing what seems to be a normal summers day in an average village. This gives the reader a false sense of security which quickly turns into a sense of horror by the end of the story. Jackson uses the elements of a short story, atmosphere, plot and characters to create a sense of horror. One of the five elements of a short story that Jackson uses to create a sense of horror is atmosphere. Jackson describes the story as taking place on a clear, warm and sunny summer day but when one first reads about the children in the story, they are not playing and having fun and one would expect, instead they are quietly grouped together not doing much of anything. The fact that these children, more specifically the boys, are acting uneasy, and loafing around on beautiful summer day is one of the ways that Jackson uses atmosphere to create a sense of horror. Another one of the elements that Jackson uses to create a sense of horror is plot. When Tessie Hutchinson finds out that her husband and head of the family, Bill, has drawn the marked piece of paper she starts shouting out that â€Å"You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper her wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!† so everyone should have to draw again, it is starting to become clear that being the winner of this lottery is not a good thing. This is made even clearer when Tessie starts trying to have her in-laws added to the roster of the next group of contestants in order to better her chances of not being picked. Characters are the third and final element of a short story that Jackson uses to create a sense of horror. One of ways that Jackson use characters to create a sense of horror is through their names. An example of one of the characters she uses to do this is Mr. Graves. Grave can be used as an adjective or noun. The adjective means to cause alarm or to be serious. The noun refers to a burial place, typically a hole in the ground. Black is a color commonly associated with bad, mysterious and dark things, death being one of those things. When Mr.Graves makes his appearance he is bringing in the black box. The fact that a man called Mr. Graves is walking in with a black box, the author is letting the reader know that something bad is going to happen. This is one example of how Jackson uses the characters to create a sense of horror. Shirley Jackson tells a suspenseful story about a group of average people in an average village. She uses atmosphere, plot and characters, three of the five elements of a short story to create a horrific story which shows the reader how what we think to be normal customs and rituals can actually turn out to be horrific and barbaric if one takes a step back and judges them from a different perspective.

Arguments For and Against Online Music Sharing

Arguments For and Against Online Music Sharing In this report, I am going to outline the arguments for and against the unauthorized sharing of music on the internet. I will outline the strengths and weaknesses of unauthorised sharing of music on the internet, using evidence which I will discuss and summarise.As music has begun to circulate in various material forms, it has become more of a commodity, as it has become more transportable. A large part of this is the use of the internet to share and download music in the form of files. The information market regime, a theory evolved by Weick (1995), suggests that a market information regime conveys the impression that the information gathered by the music industry is valid and very important, and that its availability creates demand for its use in interpreting the market. I will touch on this point further in this report.I will also touch on several resources, both textbook and internet based, which outline theories, practices and articles in relation to the evolution, distribution and contestation of sharing music online. Â  Advantages of Sharing Music Although there are few advantages of sharing music online, Caves (2001, p.6) suggests that due to the infinite variety of the nature of the creative industries, the multidimensional quality of cultural products makes it hard to predict what audiences will like. Its multidimensional nature means that it is valued in a variety of ways by listeners across different places and is modified by musicians in new ways. This means that although unauthorised music sharing can make it difficult to log and track patterns in the market and predict what audiences will like, it does not hinder this process as it is already difficult to measure the market and its demands. Although there are difficulties in predicting cultural taste, pre-testing may be used. In terms of the music market, pre-testing is a form of research carried out before production is complete and major resources have been committed (Banks, Barnett and Mahendran, 2012). With music pre-testing, a single song from an album may be shared with a select audience to review and give feedback. This means that the song may be shared across a wider audience by unauthorised means, however, as no major resources have been committed, the musicians do not lose profit and their reputation may grow because of the song being shared. By having a wide range, the chances are that the albums produced will become hits, meaning that these will more than cover the costs lost by unauthorised music sharing. Despite internet based forms of distribution meaning that music becomes shared illegally, it also means that the information regime is transformed as music companies can gain more direct knowledge of the market through their own download websites and websites that allow music audiences to post information about music tastes, such as what they like and dislike (Walsh and Mitchell, 2010). The article written by Miller (2012) says that lots of people seemingly dont have any problem with downloading pirated music. In fact, 70% of online users say they find nothing wrong with online piracy, and 63% of users admit to doing some illegal downloading. So, while music piracy may be illegal, its socially accepted. This suggests that although piracy is illegal, it has become more socially acceptable, despite the risks of websites being closed and frequent users facing bans. Â  Disadvantages of Sharing Music There are many disadvantages of the unauthorised sharing of music on the internet. As music has begun to circulate in various material forms, it has become more of a commodity, thus has become more portable. A large part of this is the use of the internet to share and download music in the form of files. However, music is being shared by unauthorised internet users and websites which can have detrimental consequences. For example, it is difficult to measure market trends in the creative industry, which means that recorded music turns over quickly and must be measured by trends in existing sales by logging both physical and virtual sales. These markets are characterised by uncertainty, meaning that commercial activity is shaped by the need to predict and manage this uncertain demand. This can be tricky if music is being shared in an unauthorised way as it means that the music trends recorded will not be accurate so may hinder actual music sales. Baharat and Peterson (2000) suggest that the information generated by this market research reflects existing tastes and helps to construct the market. The information market regime, a theory evolved by Weick (1995), suggests that a market information regime conveys the impression that the information is valid and very important, and that its accessibility creates demand for its use in understanding the market. However, this suggests that information regimes typically take the form of sales reports, and hot selling items, which makes this predict and provide method invalid due to music being shared in an unauthorised way online, as it means all sales are not recorded, thus meaning the figures are inaccurate. As we can see in the article written by BBC Blogs, Waters (2009) suggests that sharing music illegally online causes significant damage and means that artists from different backgrounds are not being paid for their professional work, saying that up to 800,000 jobs in the creative industry may be threatened almost half of the entire industry. However, the government is being advised to force internet providers to place a ban on frequent file sharers, meaning more of a consequence may be put in place. The article written by Ernestro (2015) agrees with Waters (2009) as it suggests that a strategy has been put in place to curb online piracy by sending warnings to frequent file sharers and alleged pirates. This warning programme is part of the Creative Content UK (CCUK) initiative which is hosting a series of educational campaigns, called Get it right from a Genuine Site, encouraging people, especially young people and students, to steer clear of pirate sites and to use authorised, approved services instead, thus meaning that copyright holders and industry employees are not facing the detrimental effects that illegal file sharing causes. The initiative intends to measure the consumption of legal and illegal consumption of content in order to create and use statistics as a way of deterring piracy.The article written by PRS for music (2015) provides more depth into the aims and views of the Get it Right from a Genuine Site campaign, especially as it suggests that the 1.7 million employ ees of the creative industries may be at risk of job loss due to unauthorised file sharing. It is vital that they are protected from both transgression and copyright so that more can be invested into creating new content for fans to appreciate. Whilst the article largely outlines the disadvantages of piracy, it could be advantageous as its encouraging people to make the right choice rather than issuing sanctions. Conclusion To conclude, the disadvantages of unauthorised file sharing massively outweigh the advantages. Whilst it is advantageous in terms of testing the market for trends and demand, unauthorised file sharing can have some detrimental effects on the creative industries. The educational campaign, Get it right from a Genuine Site, is clearly seeking to reduce piracy and creative industry employees losing both money and their jobs, by aiming to educate the public about unauthorised file sharing to encourage them to use licensed services to share and download music. The campaign has been using a promotional hashtag on social media sites to attempt to spread their message. It may be worth further considering the CCUK campaign and their resources when organising your week of debate and raising awareness around internet use. The article written by PRS for music (2015) mostly outlines the disadvantages of unauthorised sharing of music on the internet. Neville-Rolfe, the Minister for Intellectual Property, suggests that the campaign is helping to improve the UKs economy and culture, simply by encouraging people to download from genuine sites. This can then help to ensure that by protecting and promoting the future of entertainment that it can help the industry to grow and expand as opposed to shrinking and losing money because of job losses and infringement. Overall, it is clear to see that there are many disadvantages of unauthorised music sharing, which heavily outweigh any positives there may be. I hope you have found this report useful in outlining the advantages and disadvantages of sharing music online, and that it will be beneficial in creating a week of debate on this topic around good practice and safe internet use. References Adorno, T. (1945) A social critique of radio music, Kenyon Review, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 208-17. Anand, B.N. and Peterson, R. (2000) When market information constitutes fields: sensemaking of markets in the commercial music industry, Organization Science, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 270-84. Banks, M., Barnett, C. and Mahendran, K. (2012). The Uses of Social Science. Milton Keynes: The Open University, p.19. Baulch, E. (2003) Gesturing elsewhere: the identity politics of the Balinese death/thrash metal scene, Popular Music, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 195-215. Baulch, E. (2008) Making Scenes: Reggae, Punk, and Death Metal in 1990s Bali, Durham, NC, Duke University Press. Caves, R. (2001) Creative Industries: Contracts between Art and Commerce, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press. Clifford, J. (1986) Introduction: partial truths in Clifford, J. and Marcus, G. (eds) Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, Berkeley, CA, University of California Press. Clifford, J. (1992) Travelling cultures in Grossberg, L., Nelson, C. and Treichler, P. (eds) Cultural Studies, New York/London, Routledge. Douk Saga Sagacite (16 May 2007) YouTube video, added by missyolga [online], www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGQlXbe2pq4 (Accessed 23 November 2012) Ernesto (2015) UK anti-piracy education campaign launched, quietly, TorrentFreak, 1 December Eternal Madness -Gila Sepanjang Masa (11 February 2011) YouTube video, added by PRASASTY666 [online], www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxOH3DXRHas (Accessed 15 August 2012). Geertz, C. (1973) The Interpretation of Cultures, New York, Basic Books. Gronow, P. and Saunio, I. (1998) An International History of the Recording Industry, London, Cassell. Gupta, A. and Ferguson, J. (eds) (1997) Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology, Durham, NC, Duke University Press. Informa Telecoms Media (2010) Pop is still king of the worlds music genres, Music Copyrights Blog, 11 August [online], http://musicandcopyright.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/pop-is-still-king-of-the-world%E2%80%99s-music-genres/ (Accessed 15 August 2012). Katz, E. and Lazarsfeld, P. (1955) Personal Influence: The Part Played by People in the Flow of Mass Communication, Glencoe, IL, Free Press. Miller, M. (2012). Downloading Pirated Music: Pros and Cons | | Que. [online] Quepublishing.com. Available at: http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1946755 [Accessed 7 Feb. 2017]. Ortner, S. (1995) Resistance and the problem of ethnographic refusal, Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 173-93. PRS for Music (2015) Get it right safeguarding the UKs creative industries, PRS for Music, 23 October Scannell, P. (2007) Media and Communication, London, Sage. Steil, L. (2011) Realness: authenticity, innovation and prestige among young danseurs afros in Paris, in Toynbee, J. and Dueck, B. (eds) Migrating Music, London, Routledge. Walsh, G. and Mitchell, V-W. (2010) The effect of consumer confusion proneness on word of mouth, trust, and customer satisfaction, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 838-59. Waters, Darren. How Damaging Is Illegal File Sharing?. BBC. N.p., 2009. Web. 28 Jan. 2017.

Cross Linguistic Influence English Language Essay

Cross Linguistic Influence English Language Essay The research area of this paper is a cross-linguistic influence or as otherwise known transfer. Specifically, I propose to examine orthographic transfer and its potential effects on English native speakers pronunciation of segmentals in German as their second language. The fact that orthography can influence second language pronunciation is recognized by many foreign language teachers. Nevertheless, there is not enough evidence for such influence and more research is needed (Bassetti, 2008). Previous research on orthographic transfer has mainly looked at its effects on reading and spelling (Jarvis Pavlenko, 2008). Cook and Bassetti (2005) argue that writing system transfer is separate from language transfer maintaining that it is not so much aspects of the language that may be carried over as the attributes of a particular writing system (p. 29). Jarvis and Pavlenko (2008) concur with the above statement; however they also emphasize the importance of the connection between orthographic transfer and language use, since it relates to the orthographic effects on phonology and vice versa. According to Jarvis and Pavlenko, during the development of L1literacy skills, which uses the phonetic alphabet, important sound-letter correspondences are acquired which later can be transferred to the acquisition and use of the second language. Before proceeding any further, the discussion of two key terms that are extensively used in this paper as well as their definitions as proposed by the researchers in the field of SLA is required. The terms are writing system and orthography. The first term to define is writing system. Coulmas (1999) defines writing system (WS) as a set of visible or tactile signs to represent units of language in a systematic way (p. 560). There are various types of writing systems depending on what type of linguistic units they represent (Bassetti, 2005). Consequently, there are writing systems whose linguistic units are consonants hence the name consonantal WSs (for example, Hebrew and Arabic). Morphemic WSs are represented by morphemes (Chinese) and alphabetic WSs are represented by phonemes (English, German, and Spanish). In addition, there are also syllabic WSs whose linguistic units are syllables (Japanese). This paper will specifically focus on alphabetic writing systems of English and German languages which use the same script the Roman alphabet. The term writing system relates to orthography which is the second term and is defined as a set of rules for using script in a particular language, such as symbol- phoneme correspondences, capitalization, punctuation, etc. (Coulmas, 2003, p. 35). For example, in English orthography the letter Ë‚s˃ is read as /s/ and in German orthography as /z/ (Benware, 1986). Thus, the same script- the Roman alphabet- is used differently in the English and German orthographies. Orthographies of the same type of alphabetic writing system and script are also varied in their regularity of sound-symbol correspondences (Cook Bassetti, 2005). For instance, in English, the letter Ë‚a˃ maps to different phonemes in words such as park, bank, and ball, whereas in German the same letter Ë‚a˃ has only one pronunciation /a/ as in German nouns Park, Ball, Bank (Goswami, Ziegler, Richardson, 2005). English orthography is very inconsistent in terms of its sound-letter correspondences thus it is considered to have deep orthography. Languages such as German, Italian and Spanish have relatively consistent letter-to-sound correspondences, so their orthographies are shallow or as otherwise called phonologically transparent (Cook Bassetti, 2005). Thus, it should be easier for English native speakers to acquire German sound-letter correspondence rules than for German native speakers to acquire English sound-letter correspondence rules. Nevertheless, there has been observed a considerable number of segmental mispronunciations by English native speakers learning German as a foreign language. Therefore, the question arises whether the knowledge of L1 orthography has an effect on how English native speakers pronounce segmentals in German or are there any other factors such as cognate status or the age of acquisition that contribute to the orthographic transfer?. Literature review The focus of this paper is to explore whether the knowledge of L1 (English) orthography, namely its sound-letter correspondence rules, is transferred to L2 (German) and whether it has any positive or negative effects on L2 pronunciation of segmentals in adult language learners of different proficiency levels. The paper also aims at investigating whether there is a significant difference of orthographic transfer produced by learners at different proficiency levels (beginning, intermediate and advanced). Finally, the study will examine whether a lexical factor such as cognate status has either positive or negative effect on the acquisition and use of German as a foreign language. A number of studies have examined orthographic effects on either spelling or reading. Many studies also have looked at the effects of L1 orthographic experience on L2 word learning and decoding. However, there has been little research examining the effects of orthography on phonology and vice versa. According to Hayes-Harb, Nicol, and Barker (2010) no research has examined spelling conventions of the native and second languages where both share the same script. Although there is some evidence of the relationship between orthographic and phonological representations in learning new vocabulary, more research is needed to shed light on this phenomenon (Hayes-Harb et al., 2010). As this study examines orthographic transfer from English to German, the notion of cross-linguistic similarity should be taken into consideration especially given the fact that both languages share a significant number of cross-linguistic similarities in cognate, lexical, phonological, and writing systems areas. Ringbom and Jarvis (2009) discuss the importance of cross-linguistic similarities in foreign language learning. Specifically, they maintain that learners rely on their previous linguistic knowledge and look for similarities rather than differences between the L1 and the TL. Ringbom and Jarvis also state that second language learners refer to their previous linguistic knowledge mostly at the beginning stages of second language acquisition. Another important factor such as phonetic awareness and phonetic sensitivity should not be neglected. Piske (2008) maintains that children develop phonetic sensitivity to speech contrasts specific to their L1 long before they begin read and write and at the same time their ability to perceive non-native speech contrasts (L2) weakens with age. So for adult language learners perceiving non-native speech contrast and sounds that are particular to the target language is difficult. To develop phonological awareness and sensitivity would require an extensive practice and frequent exposure to target language. Considering this fact, Piske states that adult language learners are influenced by writing systems of their L1 during L2 acquisition. Consequently this results in learners pronunciation errors which are linked to the reliance on L1 grapheme-phoneme correspondence rules. Especially this refers to the cases when sound-letter correspondences are inconsistent between the L1 and L2. Odlin (1989) also provides ample evidence compiled from different studies that demonstrate the clear effect of first language influence on L2 speech production and orthography. Odlin states that similar writing systems in L1 and L2 represent a much easier task for learners acquiring a new language. The same however, cannot be said of pronunciation, as other variables may influence decoding of written symbols in L2. Flege, Freida, Walley, and Randaza (1998) examined whether lexical factors such as frequency, familiarity, cognate status and the age of acquisition have an effect on production. The authors provide an insight into what role the cognate status of words can play and how it effects speech production. More specifically, Flege et al. state that degree of perceived relatedness can vary depending on degree of cross-linguistic similarities the L1 and L2 share. Specifically, they point to the proximity of cognate pairs in L1-L2 in their meaning and especially in sound. This paper will also examine whether cognate pairs influence L2 pronunciation of target sounds. Based on these statements it is also likely that English-speaking learners of German will rely on their knowledge of English sound-letter correspondence rules when speaking or reading in the target language. This may result in either mispronunciation of certain sound-letter correspondences that are inconsistent with English orthography or it may have facilitatory effects on L2 phonology acquisition. In terms of findings several studies particularly stand out. Young-Scholten (2002)1 provides evidence of orthographic effects on the production of German consonants by English speakers. Another study conducted by Young-Scholten, Akita, and Cross (1999)2 also shows evidence of the effects of written representations on the pronunciation of consonant clusters in learners of Polish as a second language. These findings led the researchers to conclude that there is a relationship between orthographic representations and L2 phonology. Other studies investigating the effects of orthography on second language phonology demonstrate that second language learners pronunciation can be influenced by orthographic input (Bassetti, 2007). Bassetti (2007) examined the effects of pinyin (a romanized version of the Chinese language) on pronunciation in learners of Chinese as a foreign language. The author predicted that orthographic representation of pinyin would result in learners not pronouncing the main vowel in the rhymes whose transcription does not represent that main vowel as in rhymes /iu/ which maps to [iou], /ui/ [uei] and /un/ [uÓâ„ ¢n]. The results of the study suggest strong influence of pinyin orthographic rules on the pronunciation of Chinese rhymes. Specifically, learners of Chinese as a foreign language would delete the main vowel, which is not present orthographically; however they would always pronounce the same main vowel in the rhymes /you/, /wen/, and /wei/ (Bassetti, 2006; Bassetti, 2007). One of the most recent studies conducted by Hayes-Harb et al. (2010) provides some evidence of orthographic influence on the acquisition of the phonological forms of new words. In this study, Hayes-Harb et al. recreated conditions in which subjects experienced learning new vocabulary in a new language. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the presence of the written form of the new words affected the learning of their phonological form. Thus, native speakers of English were divided into three groups. The first group was provided with the written forms of new words that were inconsistent with English spelling. The second group was presented with words that were matching the English sound-letter correspondences. The third group had only an auditory input and no written forms of the new words were provided. The results demonstrated that L1 orthography interfered with students ability to learn new words especially when new vocabulary differed from English sound-letter correspo ndences. While Hayes-Harb et al. (2010) provide some evidence of orthographic effects in the process of learning new phonological forms of words, the authors admit that the method is a novel one and in the future should be controlled by learners spelling ability. Previous studies show clear effects of a relationship between orthography and phonology in second language acquisition. Much of the research has analyzed orthographies that use different writing systems, and as Hayes-Harb et al. (2010) point out very little research has been done investigating the effects of orthographies on L2 pronunciation within the same writing system and script. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate further the notion of orthographic transfer by analyzing the relationship between orthography and phonology of two languages that share the same script and the following research questions are addressed in this paper: Is orthographic transfer statistically present in the sample? Do results vary and are they statistically significant between different proficiency levels? What is the nature of relationship between error score and students perceptions of cognate status? Method 2.1 Participants The participants of this study were 28 undergraduate American English speakers from Ohio University. The students were enrolled in the 100, 200 and 300 levels of German as a foreign language. The levels differ by proficiency. The 100 level is offered to beginners, the 200 level is an intermediate level, and the 300 level is taught to the advanced students respectively. Each proficiency level consists of a three quarter sequence meeting four hours per week with regular homework assignments. Each year sequence of German series focuses on developing all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). 2.2 Materials and procedures The study consisted of two phases: the screening phase and the data collection phase. During the screening phase, students enrolled in all three proficiency levels volunteered to fill out an online language background survey. The purpose of this survey was to select potential participants for the study by controlling several variables that could have had an effect on the results. It was set up in such a way that participants could be screened based on their responses to the first three questions. Thus, those who did not qualify for the study were automatically eliminated without going over all of the survey questions. First of all, it helped eliminate the students with any reading or speech disorders. It also helped exclude those students who were taking another foreign language class along with German. The survey also eliminated the students who had taken a foreign language other than German less than a year ago, which could have contributed to transfer from that language into their knowledge and use of German. In addition, information such as students motivation, number of years they have studied German and the time spent in German speaking countries was collected through this survey. As a result, out of 63 students who had volunteered to fill out the survey, 28 were qualified and participated in the data collection phase. The selected participants included nine beginners, eight intermediate-level students, and eleven advanced-level students. The data collection phase consisted of three tasks administered in the following order: an informal reading aloud task, a formal reading aloud task, and a perception task. All three tasks were performed by the students during individual single session meetings lasting fifteen minutes. Reading aloud is considered to be the best way to test the knowledge of sound-letter correspondences. It provides good control and allows for comparison of speech samples from different subjects. Reading aloud is also a technique that is widely used in a foreign language class thanks to which participants feel more comfortable during data collection (Madsen, 1983). During the informal reading task, students were asked to read aloud a German text which was adapted in order to target certain German consonants and consonant clusters as detailed in Tables 1 and 2. The inventory sets (see Table 1) include incongruent grapheme-phoneme correspondences students presumably would have had the most difficulty producing. Table 1. Incongruent grapheme-phoneme correspondences Sounds exist in both languages, but are represented with different letters German phoneme-grapheme correspondences English phoneme-grapheme correspondences 1 Ë‚w˃ / [v] e.g., Wind [vÉ ªnt] Ë‚v˃ /[v] eg.: van [và ¦n] 2 Ë‚v˃ / [f] e.g., Vogel [foË gl] Ë‚f˃ / [f] eg.: fan [fà ¦n] 3 Ë‚s˃ / [z] e.g., sinken [zÉ ªÃƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹knÃÅ' ©] Ë‚z˃ / [z] eg.: zone [zoÊÅ  n] 4 Ë‚s˃/[ʃ] when followed by e.g., Sport [ʃpɆrt] Ë‚s˃ / [ʃ] when followed by eg.: shine [ʃaÉ ªn] 5 Ë‚s˃ /[ʃ] when followed by e.g., Student [ʃtudɆºnt] Ë‚s˃ / [ʃ] when followed by eg.: shed [ʃɆºd] Sounds are different in both languages, but are represented with the same letters 6 Ë‚t˃/ [ts] e.g., Tradition [traditsioË n] Ë‚t˃/[ʃ] e.g., tradition [trÉâ„ ¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã‹â€ dÉ ªÃƒÅ Ã†â€™http://sp.dictionary.com/dictstatic/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.pngÉâ„ ¢n] 7 Ë‚z˃/ [ts] e.g., Zimmer [tsÉ ªmÉ ] Ë‚z˃ / [z] e.g., zone [zoÊÅ  n] 8 Ë‚ch˃/[à §] e.g., sportlich [ʃpɆrtlÉ ªÃƒ §] Ë‚ch˃/ [tʃ] e.g., rich [rÉ ªtʃ] Also is included a set of congruent phoneme-grapheme correspondences that exist in both English and German languages (see Table 3). Table 3. Congruent grapheme-phoneme correspondences Grapheme-phoneme correspondences existing in both languages German examples English examples 1 2 3 4 5 Ë‚b˃ maps to [b] Ë‚n˃ maps to [n] Ë‚l˃ maps to [l] Ë‚t˃ maps to [t] Ë‚p˃ maps to [p] Bank [baņ¹k] Nuss [nÊÅ  s] Land [lant] Tag [taË k] Park [park] Bank [bà ¦Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¹k] Nut [nÊŒt] Land [là ¦nd ] Tag [tà ¦g ] Park [pÉ‘rk ] To test students pronunciation of the targeted German segmentals in relation to potential transfer effects, each grapheme-phoneme correspondence listed in Tables 1 and 2 was encountered at least twice in the informal reading task and once in the formal reading task. Students readings in both tasks were recorded in a soundproof recording laboratory using audio recording software. During the first task, students had one minute to read the text silently before being recorded. The formal reading task followed the informal one and required the participants to read words with the targeted sounds in isolation. The words in the formal task were a subset of those used in the informal task and some of them were cognates with English. Finally, during the perception task students had to categorize a list of both cognate and non-cognate German words in terms of their similarity to any of the English words. Students had to rate the words on a three-point scale (1=same; 2= similar; 3= dissimilar) relying on their own perceptions. Table 3 below contains examples of words students rated in the perception task. Table 3 Categorization of cognate and non-cognate words Same meaning Form Same Similar Dissimilar Ger. Wind Eng. Wind Ger. Sturm Eng. storm Ger. Viel Eng. many Ger. Student Eng. Student Ger. Milch Eng. Milk Ger. Vogel Eng. bird Ger. Winter Eng. Winter Ger. Temperatur Eng. Temperature Ger. Zeit Eng. time Ger. Warm Eng. Warm Ger. Wetter Eng. Weather Ger. Zimmer Eng. room Ger. Sport Eng. Sport Ger. Naturlich Egn. Naturally Ger. traurig Eng. sad Ger. Tradition Eng. Tradition Ger. Sportlich Eng. sporty Ger. Information Eng. Information Ger. Sonne Eng. Sun Ger. Strudel Eng. Strudel Results from these tasks revealed whether the reliance on first language orthography had a positive or negative effect on students pronunciation of segmentals in German. The mispronunciations in the recordings were quantified, categorized and recorded in a data file. Their performance was then codified and entered in the data file. Finally, student survey responses and identifying information collected through the questionnaire were matched with participants reading performance results and the perception task. Once the survey information and performance results were merged, the data was de-identified to ensure the confidentiality of the participants. Data analysis and results In order to address the first research question of whether orthographic transfer is statistically present in the sample, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test, the nonparametric alternative to the paired-sample t-test was used to examine whether the participants pronunciation errors were statistically more prevalent in cases of incongruent sound-letter correspondences between the L1 and L2 than in cases of congruent sound-letter correspondences. That is, we tested whether the participants distribution of errors and successes is keyed to the specific ways in which the L1 and L2 are related in terms of sound-letter correspondences. The results of the test revealed that orthographic transfer is statistically present in the sample (p=.00). Students indeed produced more errors in cases of incongruent sound-letter correspondences and there were zero number of mistakes in cases with congruent sound-letter correspondences. In order to address our second research question concerning whether there is any difference in the mean scores between proficiency level groups, The Kruskal Wallis test was performed. This test was conducted on the results of the reading tasks of the experiment to test whether the subjects from the three proficiency level groups differed significantly in producing German segmentals [à §, f, ts, ʃp, ʃt, z, v]. It was assumed that the distribution of errors would be more prevalent in the beginner level group as opposed to intermediate and advanced level groups. The results demonstrated a significant difference in mean scores between all three proficiency groups for both informal and formal reading tasks (p =.009). The results of the descriptive statistics are summarized below in Table 5.   Table 5 Mean error scores for each proficiency level Beginners group mean score Intermediate group mean score Advanced group mean score Group Mean Informal reading task 22.50 15.58 8.00 14.83 Formal reading task 20.42 13.85 5.41 12.64 Cumulative error mean 43.37 30.43 13.41 27.90 Valid N 9 8 11 28 Finally, in our last research question we examined the relationship between students performance results in both reading tasks and their perceptions regarding cognate status of the words. For this purpose a correlation analysis was conducted to examine what kind of relationship there exist between the number of errors produced in the target sounds and the number of students rating the words as same or dissimilar. As a result, correlation coefficient between error score and a number of students rating the words as same revealed a weak negative relationship between these two variables, with correlation coefficient r = -.47. On the other hand, correlation analysis between error score and a number of students rating the words as dissimilar showed a moderate positive relationship between the variables with r = .57. Discussion The present study is exploratory in its nature yet the results show evidence of orthographic transfer in the sample. By that we mean that students do tend to rely on their L1 knowledge of sound-letter correspondence rules specifically in the cases of incongruent sound-letter correspondences between the L1 and L2. The results also indicate a significant difference in mean error scores at different proficiency levels. Thus, the beginner level students produced the highest number of errors in targeted segmentals than students from intermediate and advanced levels. These findings support the idea Ringbom and Jarviss (2009) stated that the second language learners rely more on their previous linguistic knowledge at an early stages of second language acquisition. This especially applies to the languages that share a significant number of cross-linguistic features in cognate, lexical, phonological and writing systems, as in case of English and German. The results of this study are also in line with previous findings of Piske (2008), which suggested that adult learners are influenced by the writing systems of their L1. A considerable number of errors were observed in producing in seven out of eight German segmentals [à §, f, ts, ʃp, ʃt, z, ts] with the exception of [v] which maps to Ë‚w˃ in German. For example, the highest number of errors students produced was the German consonant Ë‚g˃ in word final which maps to palatal fricative [à §] when preceded by front vowels as in traurig and consonantal cluster Ë‚ch˃ in word final which also maps to palatal [à §] in words such as Milch, natà ¼rlich, sportlich. Students produced these two sounds as [k]. They also confused German Ë‚v˃ which maps to [f] with its English counterpart [v]. The same was observed with the other two German consonants Ë‚s,z˃ which map to [z,ts] respect ively and were pronounced as English phonemes [s, z]. This can be explained by the fact that all German consonants mentioned above are represented by the same graphemes in English, which resulted in students mispronunciations. Interesting results were obtained from the words that contained labio-dental [v] which in German maps to Ë‚w˃ grapheme. None of the students had errors producing this sound despite the fact that the same grapheme /w/ maps to an approximant [w] in English. This could be interpreted as following: it appears easier for students to produce sounds that are far apart in terms of their place of articulation than for instance, the sounds that vary only in their voicing. Thus students in this study had difficulty to devoice fricative [f] in German because it is represented by grapheme Ë‚v˃, which in English maps to voiced fricative [v]. Participants of this study also struggled producing consonantal clusters Ë‚ st, sp Ã⠀¹Ã†â€™ which in German language map to [ʃt, ʃp]. Although English has phoneme [ʃ], it exists in different phonetic environment and is never followed by [p,t] phonemes in onset. Therefore students confused these two consonantal clusters with their English counterparts and produced them as [sp] for example English sport or [st] as in English student. Lastly, the perception task yielded somewhat ambiguous results. It appears that there might be a relationship between the error score and a number of students rating the words as dissimilar. Nonetheless, this needs to be investigated in the future research using a larger sample as there was insufficient amount of data to strongly support the findings. For more details regarding error score and the students perceptions see Table 6 in Appendix A. Conclusion The purpose of this study was to find out to what extent English-speaking learners of German rely on the English orthography and whether the presence of cognate words results in mispronunciation in the target language or vice versa helps learners to acquire L2 phonology. Given what was found (a) evidence that English orthography, namely its grapheme-phoneme rules interferes with learners pronunciation of German segmentals, (b) evidence that learners were influenced by L1 writing system mostly at the beginning stages of second language acquisition, and (c) some evidence of potential relationship between the errors produced and students perceptions of cognate status, we might consider some practical implications for foreign language classroom as well as future research implications. As Hayes-Herb et al. (2010) suggested language teachers might find it beneficial presenting new vocabulary using initially auditory input only. This may particularly refer to the non-cognates words as students in this study made more errors in words that they rated as dissimilar with English. At the same time, it may be helpful for learners to receive written input of the words that contain German Ë‚w˃ in word initial, as students produced zero errors, which might suggest that in this particular case written input positively influenced learners pronunciation. Therefore it is important for language instructors to be aware of orthographic transfer and its positive and negative effects so that they can address this information accordingly in their classroom. On the other hand more research is needed to support these findings. For this purpose a more comprehensive study with a larger sample would help to expand the current analysis of data and make the findings general izable for a larger population of students studying German as a foreign language. Teacher surveys might reveal whether language instructors focus on orthographic transfer or is it something new to them as well as to what extent they focus on pronunciation of those specific sounds that might be problematic due to the reliance on L1 sound-letter correspondence rules in their classroom. The results can provide valuable insights that can be applied to the teaching of German as a foreign language. Furthermore, given the scope of this study only eight German segmentals were investigated. Examining other segmentals whose orthographic representations exist only in German (for example, Ë‚Â Ã‚ ¢Ãƒâ€¹Ã†â€™, Ë‚Ã ¼, à ¶, à ¤ ˃) or segmentals whose sounds exist only in German but are represented by the same graphemes (for example German Ë‚r˃ which maps to several phonemes [Êâ‚ ¬, Ê , r] depending on the in word position) would clearly provide better results on the way English and German orthographies interact with German as a foreign language phonology. To conclude, while the this study attempted to address questions on how orthography of L1 and its sound-letter correspondence rules can be transferred to L2 phonology resulting in mispronunciation of certain segmentals still more research on this topic is needed.

Where Abortion Goes Wrong Essay -- Pregnancy Birth Papers

Where Abortion Goes Wrong Abortion is wrong. This is a bold statement for a twenty-one-year-old, white male raised in a middle class home, and one that I am not at all comfortable making. It is not just that the debate over abortion is so heated, or that I fear being labeled a Bible-beating fanatic. I am uncomfortable because the issue of abortion is mired in uncertainty. We all know that child abuse and rape are wrong. Under no condition can rape be justified. This is simply a fact that we all accept. The problem of abortion, on the other hand, is not nearly as straightforward. As pointed out by Frederick Turner in Abortion Can be a Moral Sacrifice, pro-life people can be sure that late-term abortions are murder. However, the same surety is not there when they consider two-day old embryos. A similar confusion can be seen by those in the pro-choice camp (Turner, 1992). Here lies the central question: With so much uncertainty surrounding abortion, can and should it ever be legislated? To answer this question, we must first understand the basis for both sides' positions. Misunderstandings have long been the major block to meaningful discussions. The pro-life camp's position is often thought to stem from a hidden agenda to suppress women, whereas the pro-choice position is often linked to loose morals and little emphasis on responsibility. These ideals or traits may be held by a limited number in each group, but they are not indicative of the majority. Most pro-life and pro-choice advocates sincerely believe in their convictions and have legitimate arguments to back up their beliefs. Actually, the arguments of both sides are rooted in the same key principles. The first is an understanding of the worth of the fetus, and, based... ...orn. New York: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence. Thomson, J.J. (1971). A defense of abortion. In R.M. Baird & S.E. Rosenbaum (Eds.), The ethics of abortion: pro-life vs. pro-choice (pp. 29-44). New York: Prometheus Books. Tooley, M. (1972). Abortion and infanticide. In R.M. Baird & S.E. Rosenbaum (Eds.), The ethics of abortion: pro-life vs. pro-choice (pp. 45-59). New York: Prometheus Books. Turner, F. (1992). Abortion can be a moral sacrifice. In L. Bruno (Ed.), The abortion controversy. (pp. 55-58). Warren, M.A. (1973). On the moral and legal status of abortion. In R.M. Baird & S.E. Rosenbaum (Eds.), The ethics of abortion: pro-life vs. pro-choice (pp. 75- 82). New York: Prometheus Books. Zindler, F.R. (1985). Human life does not begin at conception. In C.P. Cozic (Ed.), Abortion: opposing viewpoints (pp. 17-22). San Diego: Greenhaven Press, Inc.

Genetic Haemochromatosis :: essays research papers

Genetic haemochromatosis is a disorder, which causes iron build up over time. Usually an adult has about 4 grams of iron in their body but with this disorder the amount of iron in the body is much higher, with the total amount of iron in the body reaching up to 20 to 40 grams if untreated. In Australia, haemochromatosis affects 1 in 200-300 people but it is most common in Australians whose ancestry is from Northern Europe or the United Kingdom. If haemochromatosis is left untreated, it leads to conditions such as:  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cirrhosis of the liver  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cardiomyopathy  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Diabetes To prevent these problems from developing, early diagnosis and treatment is needed. The treatment for this disorder is done by regularly extracting blood, from the same main vein, as the one that’s used for when a person donates blood. By doing this regularly, it reduces the high levels of iron in the blood so that it doesn’t get stored in various organs. People who are affected by haemochromatosis may show no symptoms at all. The symptoms of this disorder are more likely to develop in men aged between 40 and 60 years old and at a later age for women, although the disorder can be diagnosed much earlier. For this disorder, symptoms vary according to the organs involved. In the early years there may be no symptoms at all except for a healthy skin colouring that seems like a tan. Although early symptoms that occur in some people are:  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weakness  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weight Loss  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lack of interest or concern  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sexual drive  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pain in the arms  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Muscle Tenderness  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cramps in the legs Symptoms may occur earlier in men though because women lose blood during menstruation and childbirth causing the iron levels in the body to reduce. THE CAUSES OF HEREDITARY HAEMOCHROMATOSIS The gene most commonly involved in hereditary haemochromatosis is called the HFE gene. On the short arm of chromosome number 6 is where this gene is located. The HFE gene codes the protein that regulates iron absorption. When the HFE gene is faulty the message from the gene is also faulty causing the iron storage that regulates itself to fail. Two mutations, called C282Y and H63D, have been identified in the HFE gene. It appears to cause most of the cases of hereditary haemochromatosis. Being born with two faulty HFE gene copies does not actually have to mean that a person will definitely develop HH, it just means that they are more easily affected by hereditary haemochromatosis then others.

American Politic

The United States of America had over the years restricted voting from women, black American and prisons of particular offences. The American legibility to vote over the years has been mainly determined by the federal and the state laws. Today, only the citizens of the US can be allowed to vote. However the states have their own laws that govern the right to votes at any elections. As if to deprive the states of their independence, the national constitutions has also gone ahead to restrict the voting laws at the state level.However over the years there have been extensions of voting rights. At the very onset of the American democracy, women and the poor were not legible to take part in the voting. This disfranchisement has been criticized over the years. Nevertheless it is appreciable the attainment of the voting rights have been as progressive as the progression of the American democracy. Until 1870 Americans were denied voting rights based on the three principles, race color and th eir previous servitude conditions.In 1920 the provision was reviewed and only sex was used as a restricting factor against one taking part in the voting process. In 1964 a provision was passed contrary to inter alia allowing American citizens who had failed to pay taxes to take part in voting. Hitherto, American who were not paying taxes were not allowed vote. In 1971, passed an amendment bill that sought to lift any restrictions on account of the age. The right to vote has been extended to a wide spectrum of voters. However some states barred people who had committed felonies from voting.Several movements pushed for the expansion of the suffrage extend. In the 1960 for example, young men who had taken art in the war in Vietnam were in dire need for voting to taking part in the election of their leaders. While they were taking an active part in the government policy implementation they appeared locked out in key government decisions such as elections. Subsequent to this movement the minimum voting age was moved from 21 years of age to 18 years. In a dramatic shift, some states even allowed those who were nearing that age to take part in election at the primaries and caucuses.The voting space was further opened through the extension of voting rights to prisoners. Though this was done spaciously, some states allowed only prisoners on probation to take part in voting. As of 2007 fourteen states in the United State were allowing prisoners with minor crimes and ex-felons to vote. It is however regrettable that an estimated 5. 3 American are denied the voting rights because convictions of felony. This is in sharp contrast with the practice in the European Union where ex-felons and in some cases prisoners are allowed to vote.In Canada for example, prisoners have been allowed to vote since 2002. It has taken relatively long for the extension of the suffrage in the United States. Presumably, this is because over the years there was no push for this course. However the few past decades have seen movements fronting for the rights of the franchised. While these movements go way back to the times of Martin Luther king Junior, after his death there was reduced political activism that would have led to reduction of the voter franchise. The extension of suffrage has been largely precipitated by the increased American political space.In addition, the increased economic development was coupled with political reform. Given that economic development is always coupled with political and social development, these transformations made the upsurge of political and social movements inevitable. Subsequently, the United States was being used as a parameter for ideal democracy; hence it was utterly inevitable of the powers that be to embrace human rights, inclusive of the voting rights. 2. Describe the factors that have contributed to the overall weakening of political parties in America. How are parties weaker?How do they remain important? What are the advantages of a political system with weak political parties? What are the disadvantages? Political parties are elected into power based on their manifestos and their policies. However it so happens that after election the parties tend to deviate utterly from their manifesto. They tend, in the opinion of the electorates, to engage in other businesses other than the mandate for which they were elected into power. Besides, the parties have revered their political party’s hegemony to an extent that they are not the electorates that count but the party.Apparently the United States has international forces that are dictating its direction. Worse still, the purported purchase of votes in the quest to pass certain bills are also making the voters loss their trust in the system. Given that parties are about numbers, this ends up weakening the parties even further. In particular the voters cite the passing of the healthcare plan bill. This exhibition of concealed corruption is making the general public to lose trust overall in the leadership of the country; who happen to be emanating from political parties.The decentralization of the party powers has also believably contributed to the weakening of the political parties. The implication is that the grassroots leader have equal mandate on the affairs of the party just as much as the leaders at the national levels. In addition the party system tends to have very many cleavages at all the three levels; national, state and the local levels. This fragments the system further hence making it to lose its powers. It is also worth noting that the parties sporadically supported; in one state, one party is supported altogether while in another, another party is supported.The United States has very many issues that need to be addressed. This diversified issues lead to lower internal unity among party members. This has been particularly prevalent in the Democratic Party. Vividly, even the Republican Party seems to be tending on this ver y trend. This notable is the fragmenting of the party into Conservative Republican and Libertarian Republicans. In addition, the emergence of interest groups has also critiqued the political parties to the extent of igniting distrust from the voters. Further, partisan bickering has also seen turn off to the American voter.There are a number of indicators of weakening of parties. In particular the realignment in elections has been dramatic encounter in the US. This has been an ultimate indication of the weakening of political parties. Areas that were initially perceived to be in support of the Republican Party are now supporting the Democratic Party. There has also been a decline in the straight ticket voting to increased split ticket voting. The subsequent inclusion of the office bloc ballot that allows for the split ticket voting is an indicator of this trend.There appears o be no clear cut merits for weaker political parties; however, weaker political parties tend to strengthen de mocratic ideals. Clearly, when the incumbent is duly mandated they tend to deliver service with a clear conscience of low civil mandate. On the contrary, when political are weaker the lack of mandate expose them to sabotage even when their strategic and political intention or good willed. In general this tends to impede the success of both political social and economic agenda. In the overall analysis it does affect the functioning of political economic and social systems.Ultimate, the delivery of services to the general public is tampered with. 3. Should race be taken into account when congressional districts are redrawn after each census? If 20 percent of a state is African American, should 20 percent of the districts have an African American majority? First, it need to be acknowledged that any process that takes race as a central parameter for course will always end up disfranchising the nation. Therefore such attempts should be resisted at all costs. It is equally appreciable tha t over years racism has impacted white people.Usually that discussion comes in the context of an assumption that, if whites can see that racism has negative effects on them as a group, that realization will motivate action to eliminate racism. While the forces of racism would not be demonized as such, its emphasized use promotes its ideals. Hence if the criteria is used it divides the nation into such lines. Racism is by far too powerful and recalcitrant force that if it is allowed to permeate, it clings and stubbornly gets lodged into the system this assumption acknowledges, clinging stubbornly wherever it is lodged.In addition there is much price to be paid in acceptance of this draconian approach to national development. Most of the white will not accept this aspect and would rather not accept this dynamics. However, the role they do play is so immense that the least consideration should be given to such criteria in making such decision as rescheduling of the district boundaries. In measuring the benefits, powers and privileges, in some concealed process of thought and sensation outweigh the negatives.Nevertheless, there is the least possibility of balancing the effects of the racial criteria with their inherent negative effect. Racism would not only hurt the marginalized, but also those who purport to be privileged. While the argument in the article should not play sanguine, the basic principle and guiding criteria should be that in earnest, racism has the least positives to offer, rather it simply creates divisions that jeopardize the peace and tranquility of the nation or the state.Fronting of divisions based on these criteria will defeat the national object of ensuring that the state is dully glued together and utterly cohesive. Majorly, it has always been perceived that racism affect the blacks more than the white; however, I feel the effect is felt across the board. Racism has distorted reality for many whites. Teachings about history, the world, the pursuits of thought, expressions of culture, and personal relationships have for most whites been both limited and false.Racism has taught whites that we are members of a race which is superior, and that assumption creates false expectations and warped illusions. Racism, particularly during the period when Africans were enslaved, taught white men that it is all right to rape black women, and also exacerbated the devaluation of white women. Racism has taught whites that we are entitled to privilege as a right of birth, undercutting the assumption of achieved merit which is one of the cornerstones of democracy.Racism, present at the foundation of our nation, left a country built on a fundamental and terrible contradiction between a belief in equality and a belief in white superiority. That contradiction remains unresolved. Racism has produced in white society a mental health problem: characteristic responses among many whites are dominated by unfounded fear of blacks, hatred, suspicio n, guilt, shame, and jealousy. These words are the language of disease. The cost for whites who want to move beyond racism has been a high one, measured in time, emotion, psychic energy, and sometimes money.Racism, as one of the root causes of poverty, costs our nation huge amounts of money, measured in crime, unemployment and related social ills. Racism has set whites who are made poor in our society in competition with people of color, and has also increased the separation between classes among whites. Ultimately, no, race should not be taken into considerations. Ideally taking into account the race is simply trying to fragment the nation into the races. 4. A dilemma is presented by the values of liberty and equality in regard to interest-group activity.On the one hand, individuals should have the liberty to organize themselves politically in order to express their views. On the other hand, there is a strong class bias in the politics of organized interests. How has the U. S. gove rnment sought to regulate group activity in order to balance these competing values? What else might government do to make group politics less biased? What are the potential consequences—both good and bad—of the actions you suggest? The United States has sought to regulate group activities through passing legislations that require all lobbyists to register.Until the 1970, the United States monitored rather than regulated the activities of lobby groups. Today the activities of the various groups have been regulated through four constitutional legislations. Within the constitutional provisions, the lobby groups are expected to report on their expenditure and the activities of involvement by the registered lobby groups. The government has also regulated the activities of the groups by restricting the association of the civil servants and government organizations with the lobby groups.The association regulated is in terms of finances and logistics. Ideally this is meant to reduce the muzzle of the lobby groups in terms of their financial capability and their subsequent technical ability to address certain group issues. In addition, this assists the government to ensure that there is no leakage of any government classified information to this lobby groups. The groups are also expected to disclose their financial statements. Ideally, the lobby groups are meant to publish their income sources and their expenditure items.Besides, the government restricts and limits the amount of money that can be attained from the various funding organizations. Further, the government sets timeline within which the group can access funds from various fundraisers. The political action committee is mandated with the regulation of funds for the purpose of campaigns. Presumably, the PAC is supposed to ensure that the groups do not get beyond the target set for group expenditures on campaigns. It need be noted that different states have also come up with supporting laws that regulate the activities of the groups.Like in the case of campaign financing regulations, some of the laws compel limitations and prohibits the contributions from Political Actions Committees. The US constitution does require that the political parties should get majority votes from half the states. To reduce bias further, I feel strongly that there should be a provision to the effect that the winner should gunner at least 40 percent of the votes cast from the remaining states other than the present requisite majority of the 75% from the electorates college. 5. Two of Congress’s chief responsibilities are representation and lawmaking.Describe the ways in which these two responsibilities might conflict with one another. How do these responsibilities support and reinforce one another? What would Congress be like if its sole function were representative? What would it be like if it were solely legislative? The congressmen and women are expected to represent their electorates in the all spheres, and on the other extreme they are expected to make laws that are to serve the interests of the larger America. There are issues that would be in conflict with the representative’s aspiration of the people whom they do represent.Some of the legislations are in the interests of the country at large; however, the representative may have to sacrifice the desires of the electorates to have the legislations passed. In some cases, the laws presented would, though good, may be turned down because the representatives are trying to have their electorates protected. Ultimately, this represents conflicts in interests. In financial related bills, as a representative the legislator would be compelled to turn down the bill if the bill does not give considerations to the states of representation.In earnests this would be in the interests of the state but not the national interests. This conflict would impede on the overall delivery of services to the nation. In additions, on e may push for legislations that only take care of the states for which there represents not taking the interests of the nation into account. As a legislator, the representative function curtails the members of the congress to pass legislations that would not hurt their electorates, but remain consistent with the needs and desires of the nation. Subsequently the legislations passed remain consistent with the interests of the country.If the congress was only comprised of legislators, it could be more likely that the laws would not take into consideration the needs of the citizens. This would just lead to complacence in the entire legislation process. The fact that legislators are also representatives makes the whole process issue and needs oriented unlike if the legislators are only playing that role in seclusion without understanding the needs of the citizenry. If the congress was purely of the representation functions, there could be a high chance that the legislations passed would have total seclusion from the ideal state on the ground.Ideal reforms would be practical to the needs of the citizenry need to bridge between the linked to the ideal state on the ground; the central role of representation. Partisan politics largely take the interests of the state at heart rather the national interests. In view of this aspect, legislation may be hampered by the interests. In their quest to defend the party positions, which are representative of their election mandate, the representative end up dwelling a blow on the functions of the congress. 6. Presidents have constitutional, institutional, and political sources of power.Which of the three do you think most accounts for the powers of the presidency? Is it, in fact, possible to discern among these the true source of presidential power? Select a president and discuss the ways in which that particular president used each source of power to succeed in the presidency. Because of the democratic ideal embraced by the Unit ed States of America, constitutional source of power tend to take much prominence in the presidents mode of administration. Though the other powers may come into foreplay, they can only have impact where they are supported by constitutional powers.When the president gets into office appointment, he undertakes appointments informed by the constitutional powers, though behind the scenes there could be some fore play in the determination of the person, the whole act is prompted by the constitution. The constitution does mandate the president to make appointment subject to certain conditions. Nevertheless, he has the powers that are constitution of undertaking the appointments. Taking the decision such as the engagement into war in Iraq Bush simply used his constitutional powers to declare the war on Iraq.Ideally political powers could have the list effect as the decision was not supported by all the Republicans. In essence the party was much divided over the declaration of the war in I raq. On the strength of this argument it is evident that constitutional powers fore played other sources of power. It is utterly possible to discern that the political powers only assist the presidency to take over the office. But once the president has taken over the office institutional powers take the central stage the decision making process with the other sources of powers only being supportive to the entire excise of the presidential mandate.Essentially, one can strongly content that the major source of powers for the presidency in the United States of America is mainly the constitution. The institution of the presidency has sufficient powers that allow the American president make decisions on behalf of the state. Pursuant to this provision the presidency (under Bush) refused to sign the Kyoto protocol which according to bush was going to hurt the American economy. Bush argued that if the Kyoto protocol was signed, it implied most of the vehicle (75 millions) were to be remove d from the road which meant the Americans were to resort to some other form of transport.When President Bush (former) was seeking election to the white house he did make a promise to the conservatives that he would nominate one of the conservative judges to the high court bar. For him this was going to change the direction in the court. Alito’s appointment was purely, within this context, political. The credentials of Alito, purely conservative, were to provide a swing vote in O’Connor. 7. Often the efficiency of public bureaucracies is judged in terms of the efficiency of private business and other organizations.In many instances, government has been expected to do things that businesses in the marketplace have chosen not to do or have found unprofitable. Might the tasks that government is asked to perform be more prone to inefficiency? Think about the ways in which business might be able to perform some tasks that government currently performs. Would business necessa rily perform these tasks more efficiently? Should efficiency be the only priority in the public enterprise? There are certain services and goods that would otherwise not be left in the hands of the public for delivery to the consumers.These goods will ascribe to these aspects for a number of reasons. First, the fact that certain service such as the constructions of roads has such a large capital outlay that the private sector would not single handedly offer implies that it is only the government that can offer such services. Some goods and services are so sensitive that leaving their supply to the private sector would not only jeopardize national security but will also put at risk the security of the civilians at risk.Services such as the military, police services and the prison services are so sensitive that leaving them to the private sector does not give the general public assurance of the efficacy and the reliability of the services. The provision of the legal tender for any gov ernment, America and any other would not be left in the hands of the general public. The currency would readily be supplied to the economy without the least consideration of effect particularly where partisan interests come into foreplay. In the long run the currency of any state may never be stabilized.This risks the economic performance of any state. The other reason for the provision of these services by the government is if the services or the goods are very unprofitable. Given that the central goal of the central objective of any business is to make profits. Any service that proves unprofitable would definitely and at all costs be avoided by the private sector. Given that the government has to ensure the provision of these services is inevitable, the government has no option but seek to offer the services.The lightings of the street for example have the least returns, if any. However, the provision of lights on the streets is an inevitable venture. For the streets to be safe, t he government has to erect street lights for the safety of the street users. Such venture has the least prospects of any profits. The provision of road networks services would still be left to the private sector for business if the private is allowed to collect some toll from the roads. It is appreciable that the private sector world over offers the best services compared to the government.If such avenues are opened up, it is possible that the private sector would offer relatively superb services compared to the government. However, such step can only be approved off with due caution. This is because the private sector, due to the monopolistic nature of the road system network, would end up exploiting the citizens and making exorbitant profits at the expense of the common citizenry. Therefore should be generally appreciated that the private sector has the likelihood of offering better services but the challenge would only be how best they can be contained to reduce consumer exploita tion.Nonetheless, services such as banking would only be regulated by the central bank but utterly left to the private sector to undertake such services. Ultimately efficiency and effectiveness would be attained. I strongly feel indeed efficiency should be the central indicator of good performance; however, other factors such as the reliability of the service delivery and effectiveness of the entire process should be equally taken into consideration. Clearly, being efficient may not necessarily imply that the entire citizenry is able to access the services.Ultimate, the efficiency aspect should be coupled with aspects of reliability and the effectiveness of the services being delivered. 8. In many ways, courts are expected to be apolitical institutions of government. In what ways are courts, judges, and justices shielded from politics and political pressure? In what ways are they vulnerable to political pressure? Are the courts an appropriate place for politics? What is the danger o f having too much or too little political accountability in judicial decision-making?The American judicial system has been made independent through a dependent judiciary and independent judges. Ideally the accountability of the judiciary and the independence of the judicial system are irreconcilable. Presumably, the both the two are means to an end and are never ends in themselves. The United States has a well-functioning adjudication system that has ultimately tries to reconcile democratic and legal legitimacy. In earnest, the achievement of a balance between the democratic and the legal legitimacy is utterly in the hands of the judges.The judicial has the mandate to restrict the government on certain issues. The muzzle that the judicial system has is marshaled from the fact that the judges have a security of tenure in office. This makes it possible for them to dispense their responsibilities with the least form of fear or favor. Given that their decision can not be overruled so ea sily, the judicial system therefore become impartial and therefore end making decisions that end up giving judgments that are beyond political reproach. The courts are capable of questioning the government over certain actions.Courts hold governments answerable through their power to evaluate the actions of the executive and the legislature. These powers are at the zenith particularly when courts can declare certain laws passed by the parliament as unconstitutional. Courts can also declare any decision by the parliament as unconstitutional and the executive has the least say on the same. This decision would be reached in respect to or subject to both the national and the international law. Though the judicial system is termed as an independent institution, its appointment mode subjects the process to political likelihood of manipulation.Given that the appointment of the judges is normally done by the political class, this subjects the system to political reprisal. The fear of immine nt lack of reappointment after the change of government thus subjects the judicial system to some boot-leaking condition. Definitely, the courts are not the best place for politics. Allowing politics to permeate the judicial system denies the civilians their right. Clearly, when politics dog the judicial system, the officers in the judicial system live in fear of political reprisal and hence tend to serve the interest of the political class than to fully follow the constitutional order.While the political class will feel contented, the civilians will be denied their constitutional rights. The extremes of involvement or lack of political involvement is equally disastrous. Too much involvement, as has already been mentioned curtails the rights of the civilians. The lack of political involvement makes the court lack responsibility. Hence the best balance that would be at the interest of the civilian should be political involvement that is moderated. Moderation implies that the politica l class should only make the judicial system accountable.Lack of accountability should be pointed out by the political class and therefore allow the system to valuate the entire accountability prospects. Ultimately, the interaction between the judicial system and the other branches of government should be geared to quality and legal service delivery to the civilians. Extraverted exercise of these powers simply jeopardizes the service delivery process to the citizenry. The three arms of any government should simply act as checks and balances of each other. this subsequently translates to the efficacy and efficiency if the entire service delivery process to the populace.