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.