Presidential campaign

The 2008 Presidential campaign is heating up and voters are beginning to, if they had not already, become acquainted with the various candidates. From the mood of the country, coupled with the various polls which report in unison, their results, it seems likely that a Democrat will become the next president of the United States. The reason for this has more to do with what the Republicans have failed to do, than what the Democrats can do. The war in Iraq hurt the Republicans in the last midterm election and many believe that the same will be repeated next November. As a result of these findings, three Democratic candidates will be featured. They are Chris Dodd, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The latter two are fighting against each other to become the party's presidential candidate in 2008 and the former, Chris Dodd is fighting to be recognized. In the November 15, 2007 Democratic debate, Dodd spoke the third longest, trailing behind both Obama and Clinton.[1] Unless there is an upset, it seems that the party faithful will have to choose between Obama and Clinton as their nominee. However, one of the aspects which keep the interest of the nation for more than a year, is the predictability of politics and that the nomination is still up for grabs. Chris Dobb is a five time United States Senator from Connecticut. His father was one of the lead prosecutors during the Nuremberg Trials in 1946.[2] The Dodd family has been one of class and privilege in the state of Connecticut for some time. However, this level of financial separation from the middle and lower classes of his state, has not been equated to a level of discontent between Dodd and the people that he represents. What has and will continue to serve as one of the major impediments for Dodd as he attempts to claim the Democratic nomination, is his lack of notoriety outside of Connecticut. Chris Dodd follows in all of the national polls as well as the state polls in Iowa and South Carolina which will be the first two state primaries and are scheduled to be held early next year. A Dodd nomination is a long shot. Barack Obama is another presidential candidate who is trailing in the polls. Despite the fact that he has been endorsed by Oprah Winfrey, perhaps the most powerful woman in America Obama will have to gain   a lot of ground on his chief rival, Hillary Clinton is he hopes to gain his party's nomination. Obama trails Clinton by more than twelve percentage points in both the Iowa and South Carolina races. However, recent flip flops by Clinton, most recently regarding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer's plan to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants in which Clinton expressed both her support and disagreement with the plan, seemingly at the same time, people are labeling Clinton as one who panders to popular opinion instead of possessing hard fought convictions. Obama represents all those who have felt as though they have been left out of the political process. This is why among 18-24 year olds, less than 15% are expected to vote in either the general or presidential elections.[3] Obama’s youth as well as his diverse ethnicity will both help and hurt him as he attempts to become the first biracial president in American History. Obama is beloved in Illinois and in the Chicago area where he served as a state senator for a number of years. It also does not hurt that Obama is photogenic and energetic as well. Even his critics cannot help but state that barrack Obama is a gifted speaker and politician. It also does not hurt that Obama's campaign has deep pockets and trailed only the Clinton campaign in the money that it raised during the first half of 2007. Obama raised $58 million.[4] It has become a necessary evil in today's political atmosphere, that only those viable candidates who can raise the money, will have the opportunity to stay in the race. Republican hopeful, Mike Huckabee has already bowed out of the presidential race for that same impediment; not enough money. It does not seem that Obama will have that problem. His problem lies in being able to win over skeptics who doubt that a one term U.S Senator possesses the necessary experience to run a country. Also, it cannot be ignored that Obama's race might also serve as an impediment as well as some will decide that America is not ready for a president of partial African descent. One would hope that in a meritocracy such as the United States claims to be, one will â€Å"not be judged by the color of one's skin but by the content of their character†[5] as martin Luther King dreamed might be the reality one day in America. It is this level of discontent with old party politics, both within the Republican and Democratic Party, that Obama has received so much excitement. Obama is a new type of politician and it is that freshness that he brings to an old institution that has helped to bring so much attention to his campaign. Obama is a junior United States Senator from Illinois with the least amount of experience among all of the presidential candidates. However, Obama has attracted the attention and incited the passions of America's youth to such a degree not seen since the McGovern Campaign of 1972 and before that, the 1960 campaign of John F. Kennedy.[6] Whether or not Obama can help millions of American youth, previously apathetic towards politics, to incite a passion for politics and the opportunity to make a positive change in America, remains to be seen. The front runner to receive the Democratic party's nomination for President of the United States is Hillary Clinton. Clinton is both beloved and hated by Americans. There are few candidates, in both the Republican and democratic parties, which command such attention as does Hillary Clinton. A junior Senator from the state of New York, Hillary Clinton is no stranger to politics. This has been especially true since her husband, Bill Clinton was president from 1993 until 2001 and had he been allowed to run for a third term, many believe, he would have easily won. Clinton has the most money, the best connections and the most experience compared to the rest of the presidential candidates within the executive Branch. The fact that her failed attempt to reform health care in the early 1990's is still being brought up has not helped. However, Hillary Clinton is still the person to beat. It should have been no surprise at the latest Democratic debate on November 15, 2007, that her record was the one that was attacked the most.[7] The polls show and the candidates have   concurred, Hillary Clinton is the person to beat. Some have said that the fact that Hillary Clinton is married to former President Bill Clinton will serve as an impediment to her goal of becoming President. Mr. Clinton's latest comments in which he seemingly attempted to exclude the past mistakes of his wife by playing the victim, has not been met with positive reactions and has actually hurt Mrs. Clinton in the polls. having said that, Bill Clinton serves as a huge positive force within the Clinton campaign. Within those who identify themselves as Democrats and perhaps a few republicans who keep their fondness for the Clintons a secret, many wish for a return to the days of the Clinton White House. The Constitution bars anyone from seeking a third term. The next best thing is to elect the wife of Bill Clinton. This certainly does not mean that Senator Clinton does not have the ability to stand alone on her own two feet and when she plays down the role that her husband would have if she were to become the next president, is believable, the fact that she is married to Bill Clinton, has and will continue to serve as a huge boost for the Clinton campaign. Despite the numerous shady deals and repeated sexual indiscretions, the country still has a love affair for Bill Clinton. This is made truer by the disgust and sheer hatred that many democrats have for current President George W. Bush whose mistakes only make Democrats long for the Clinton White House even more. The 2008 Presidential Election is one of the most important ever seen in American political history. The future of Iraq, universal health care, welfare and immigration reform, are dependent upon who is in the White House as well as what party dominates the houses of Congress. A clean Democratic sweep will have a direct affect upon all of the aforementioned issues. The result of the Iowa and South Carolina primaries are heavily anticipated. An upset in either primary will have a great influence in perhaps rewriting part of this survey on the current status of the Democratic Presidential Nomination. Exactly who will win the Democratic Presidential nomination, as well as their bid for the White House is still in the open. However, the smart money, for those who gamble, will still have to go with Hillary Clinton. The fact that there still remains to be seen, a Republican front runner who is actually a conservative, only serves to help the Democrats and their current top dog: Senator Hillary Clinton. However, for those who believe that reality is stranger than fiction, it would behoove them to pay close attention to the political process which accompanies our selection for the next president of the United States. Surprises are sure to follow. WORKS CITED Clinton, Hillary Living History New York: Simon & Schuster 2003 Gerth, Jeff   Her Way: The Hopes & Ambitions of Hillary Rodam Clinton   New York: Simon & Schuster 2005 Jackson, David   Obama, Edwards Comes Out Firing Against Clinton   USA Today November 16, 2007 Myers, Joan Obama Announces Candidacy Chicago Tribune February 11, 2007 Page, Clarence Opponents Cite Obama's Lack of Experience Chicago Tribune   July 18, 2007 Biography on Chris Dodd   www.chrisdodd,com   Retrieved November 16, 2007 [1] Jackson, David   Obama, Edwards Comes Out Firing Against Clinton   USA Today November 16, 2007 [2] Biography on Chris Dodd   www.chrisdodd.com   Retrieved November 16, 2007 [3] Gerth, Jeff   Her Way: The Hopes & Ambitions of Hillary Rodam Clinton   New York: Simon & Schuster 2005 [4] Jackson, David   Obama, Edwards Comes Out Firing Against Clinton   USA Today November 16, 2007 [5] Page, Clarence Opponents Cite Obama's Lack of Experience Chicago Tribune   July 18, 2007 [6] Page, Clarence Opponents Cite Obama's Lack of Experience Chicago Tribune   July 18, 2007 [7] Jackson, David   Obama, Edwards Comes Out Firing Against Clinton   USA Today November 16, 2007   

Alternative communication system during disaster Essay

PSTN or the public switched telephone network is the prime network responsible for transmitting and receiving voice, fax and data. All government and private offices, police stations, fire stations, hospitals and majority of homes and business places are serviced by the PSTN line. . Amateur Radio operation does not use ground based infrastructure. Moreover these have limited power needs which can easily be met by batteries and generations. Therefore, it has been experienced that Amateur Radio has worked successfully when no other communication worked. A radio wave is an electromagnetic wave propagated by an antenna. The floods in 2004 in Assam and Bihar submerged telephone exchanges and damaged telephone exchanges thereby disrupting roads and railways communication. This is the reason why the district headquarters got totally out off from the state headquarters and neighbouring districts. A major natural disaster or emergency situation like earthquake, cyclone, flood, etc., leaves the public wired and wireless mobile telephone infrastructure damaged and non-functional. This is a transmission towers or disrupted power supply to operate telephone exchanges and cellular transmission towers also affect the radio communication network of police and civil authorities. Satellite based communication systems refer to communication systems designed for users on the earth but have some equipment in space called a satellite. Various jobs such as taking weather pictures or finding accurate positions are amongst the different job performed by different satellites. These are sometimes refered to as COSMAT’s and are essentially radio relay stations in space. Geo-stationary orbit satellites are stationed above the earth at a position around 36000 kms above the equator. The images of weather forecasts and cyclone observations that we see on our television are made with the help of images from weather satellites. A major disaster (flood, earthquake, etc.) or emergency situation affects telephone exchanges and communication networks thereby disconnecting the affected areas from other parts of the world. In such situations, the urgent needs of disaster affected population are not communicated to government authorities, voluntary organizations and other unaffected people. This result in severe loss of human lives, livestock, property etc. This situation calls for reliable alternate communication links, to ensure that the right resources are provided to the right people at the right time. Asynchronous Orbit Satellites – These satellites are positioned in the lowerorbits around the earth. These continuously change their position with respect to the earth. The different kinds of asynchronous orbit satellites are : a) Science satellites: These orbit in altitudes of 4800 to 9700 kms. These send their research data to earth via radio telemetry signals. b) Observation Satellites: These are used for tasks like search and rescue satellites, photography. These act as relay stations to rebroadcast emergency radio-beacon signals from a downed aircraft or ship in trouble. These orbit at altitudes from 480 to 970 kms. c) Global Positioning System Satellites: Orbiting at altitudes of 9600 to 19200 kms, these are used to determine in terms of latitude ad longitude to determine the exact geographic location. The two prime communication networks of government of India are NIC and BSNL. Following are the functions of them: NIC or the National Information Centre, an organization of the Government of India is a premier science and technology organization of the Government of India is a premier science and technology organization in the field of informat ics services and information technology applications. To facilitate information and communication applications in government departments at central, state and districts, it has established a nationwide ICT network i.e. NICNET. The Government has designated NICNET as the Government Network. It has gateway modes in Central Government Departments, 35 state and union territories secretariats and 602 district collect orates of India for IT services. BSNL : The Department of Telephone Operations, Government of India was incorporated on 1st October, 2000 and was named Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited. BSNL is today the largest public sector undertaking in India with a network of over 45 million lines, covering 5000 towns with over 35 million telephone connections, it has become the country’s leading telecommunication company expansion of telecom network, improvement of the quality of telecom in rural areas are some of its major responsibilities.

Intrinsic Motivation Essay

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is learning development in which people acquire a new language – more commonly known as â€Å"second language† in addition to their native tongue. The second language is often referred as â€Å"target language† or â€Å"L2†. In addition, second language denotes any new language learned after early childhood years. This means subsequently languages learned – i. e. third or fourth language is still referred to as second language. A number of personal and environmental factors may affect the decision to learn a second language. Examples of such factors include family influences, social groups or peers, teachers, school, age, and self-concept. An individual may pursue a study on acquiring a second language skill for various reasons and motivations. In a study of UK and European students, it has been stated that the reasons a student pursues a study a foreign language are the following: 1) to be able to develop a career advantage for opportunities in the future; 2) a student’s personal inclination to learn the language; 3) to be able to learn and appreciate to cultural differences; 4) for an enhanced comprehension of the culture where the language is used; 5) and to be able to reside in nations where the language is used. The current teacher booklet aims to help the SLA teacher increase the intrinsic motivation of SLA learners by presenting sundry topics, including attitudes and motivation in second language learning; clarifying erroneous beliefs about language learning; what the SLA teacher ought to focus on: sources of language anxiety; the learning environment as source of language anxiety; variables of self-confidence; socio-psychological issues of language anxiety and self-confidence; instructor-learner interaction and classroom procedures; and interpretation of educator beliefs on language learning. Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning In the book Attitudes and motivation in second language learning, Gardner and Lambert (1972) have identified Integrative Motivation and Instrumental Motivation as the common reason for a student’s desire to study a second language. In the context of language learning, a learner may pursue the study of English such as a second language because of one’s desire to work in abroad as well as for travel purposes. The learner’s practical rationale for acquiring a second language is referred to as instrumental motivation. On the other hand, a person may pursue the study of English language in order to successfully integrate within the community where one is currently living. The learner’s purpose can be referred to as integrative motivation. Following a learner’s utilitarian purpose, the clear benefit of acquiring English as second language is to have a competitive edge in the labor market. Such skills are very valuable as businesses are increasingly becoming global. In fact, professionals who are fluent bilingual speakers have the competitive edge compared to monolingual speakers. In addition, travel and migration of people has becoming a growing trend in recent years prompting a necessity to understand and integrate within the society which one lives in. Given that there a significant number of SLA learners, it is worthwhile to examine how the teacher may be able to increase the confidence and intrinsic motivation and lessen the anxiety of the SLA learner. Clarifying Erroneous Beliefs about Language Learning Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope (1986) believe that the problem of anxiety and the accompanying erroneous beliefs about language learning, as discussed in their literature focusing on classroom anxiety, represent serious impediments to the development of second language fluency as well as to performance. In their discussion of clinical experience with anxiety as a barrier to second language development, they categorize this personality factor as that of apprehension, worry and even dread and anxious language learners often have difficulty concentrating, become forgetful, sweat, and have palpitations. Further, Chang, Horwitz, and Schallert (1999) report that there are generally two types or constructs of anxiety, which are related to second language learning in both speaking and writing. The report suggests that second language classroom anxiety refers to the anxiety felt by students in interacting with native-speaking students. It is the more general type of anxiety felt by most school students. On the other hand, second language writing anxiety refers to language-skill-specific anxiety felt by students. Chang, Horwitz, and Schallert (1999) suggest that these are two separate constructs and that anxiety levels in speaking or writing may be felt differently. Nevertheless, the report asserts that level of self-esteem is an important component for both constructs. In a research on English as Second Language, Huang (2004) reports that foreign students (i. e. Chinese) studying at North American universities have faired very well in TOEFL. While Chinese students have obtained very high marks, many still have difficulties in understanding academic lectures, taking notes, writing assignments and giving presentations. Further, this report would also illustrate that the two independent constructs reported by Chang, Horwitz, and Schallert (1999). Huang (2004) reports that the students in the study have proficiency in reading ability and grammar, and that listening and the speaking were the weakest. Moreover, the study also reports low level of confidence of foreign students in participation and interaction in classes due to this difficulty; thus, limiting their overall performance. Cummins (2000) supports that even though many have excellent English language skills in terms of social proficiency, many are still struggling with the type of cognitive academic language necessary for the success in the mainstream classroom. The Learner’s Willingness to Communicate Skehan (1989) further suggests that a learner’s willingness to communicate has also been related to anxiety. His research points toward some language learners attempting to avoid communicating in a second language due to fear of embarrassment over their current skill level in speaking the second language. Perhaps this is part of the reason why many second language learners, who study overseas, tend to remain connected to other foreign second language learners and avoid prolonged social contact with native-speaking peers. Though the reasoning behind each individual’s level of willingness to communicate will likely vary based on the number of people present, the topic of conversation and the formality of the circumstances, avoiding discussion using the second language is a common anxiety among language learners. While many studies have shown the level of anxiety of second language learners increases because of erroneous personal beliefs of the students, most of studies assert that self-confidence is an important component in overcoming of both in classroom and writing anxieties. What the SLA Teacher Ought to Focus On: Sources of Language Anxiety Furthermore, Young (1991) provides a list of potential sources of language anxiety. In her review of the literature on language anxiety, Young asserts that language anxiety can have a variety of sources – that is, anxiety can be associated with the learner’s perceptions, teacher’s beliefs, as well as the instructional practice to second language learning. She argues that language can come from the following: a. personal and interpersonal anxieties, learner beliefs about language learning, instructor beliefs about language teaching, instructor-learner actions, and language testing. Personal perceptions and beliefs can have a great effect on the progress of language learning. These perceptions have been well-documented in the studies related to age and language learning. Hyltenstam (1992) asserts that age in relation to language learning is an important factor in achieving native-like fluency for second language learners. That is, younger students tend to learn the second language faster than their mature counterparts. On the other, self-perception of more mature learners tends to hinder in the development of second language skills, which can more appropriately termed as trait anxiety. For example, adults, who are pursuing study of a second language, may have a clear mission why they are pursuing such course and far more determination to persevere than their younger counterparts. However, a number of mature students, who enter a foreign language class, were victimized by various prejudices about second language learning. â€Å"I’m too old to learn† or â€Å"I’m linguistically challenged† are common erroneous beliefs that adult learners often succumb to. Ehrman et al (2003) suggest that the feelings of uneasiness, such as late start or a belief that one needs a special predisposition for learning learning, can be attributed to the barriers created by the student’s ego as one matures. Adult learners may perceive their performance in a foreign language classroom as unnatural or ridiculous in comparison to their experience in the first language acquisition process. Therefore, these factors often contribute to the apprehension and tension felt by adult learners in the context of second language learning, more specifically in the aspect of speaking, writing, and learning. In short, adult learners suffer language anxiety more as compared to their younger counterparts. Certainly, not all adult learners become paralyzed by negative emotions the moment they step into a foreign language classroom. However, it is a common perception of educators, who have lectured to a group of adults, that some non-native speaking students may be reluctant to participate, more especially when they realize or assume that other students are more fluent. Nonetheless, it is important to emphasize that this emotion is not alien to younger learners, but in the studies it have been well-documented that with age the tension and anxiety associated with learning a new language is stronger and more difficult to overcome. The Learning Environment as Source of Language Anxiety Furthermore, the learning environment can also be a source of language anxiety. MacIntyre and Gardner (1994) would denote this as situational anxiety. Hadfield (1992) has introduced the concept of classroom dynamics to describe everything that happens in and between the participants, both the teacher and the students. Heron further elaborates on the existential anxiety of students in a classroom setting. Moreover, Heron also lists three aspects of existential anxiety in relation to classroom dynamics: 1) acceptance anxiety, 2) orientation anxiety, and 3) performance anxiety. Acceptance anxiety would relate to apprehension of being judged in a foreign class. Often times, students as well as teachers may show approval and disapproval behaviors to others. Fellow students may show impatience or mock another as a sign of their approval or disapproval to their fellow students. This often manifest as a sign of competition for teacher’s approval among students in the classroom. Teachers may also exhibit judgmental attitude in their criticisms as well as their bodily movements to their students. The teachers may open criticize or mock a student in a class. A more subtle criticism can be observed when a teacher would correct an error of a student. Whether the teacher corrects the error explicitly, by providing the correction, or implicitly, by indicating the kind of error and giving the student the opportunity for self-correction, can make a difference in the student’s self-confidence. Orientation anxiety would relate to the personal understanding of the situational contexts of the discussion or what is going on. Teacher’s role in facilitating learning is undermined by the failure to manage classroom discourse. This leads for students to at times feel of being deprived of control. In a discussion, when turn stealing overrules turn taking, such feelings can occur. The student may feel the lack of control over his role in classroom interaction when he is late to answer a general question or the question is directed to another person. More often, students would find the teacher’s unclear or unsatisfactory explanation as frustrating and leaving a feeling of no control over the language as a system. Finally, the anxiety is further instilled with domineering and controlling teachers, who leaves students feeling they have no influence over what is going on in the classroom. Lastly, performance anxiety would relate to the apprehension or feeling of isolation in a class. The feeling of isolation may also express itself as a feeling of disregarded. The feeling of being alone among one’s peers is not uncommon in highly territorial classrooms in which students never want to change their seats or switch conversation partners. Moreover, this would relate to student’s anxiety to talk using the target language with fellow students in fear of being appearing stupid and judge as well. Hence, research reports would suggest that foreign students will tend to group with fellow non-native speakers and exhibit behavioral avoidance when studying in the mainstream English classes. Variables of Self-Confidence Self-confidence is a positive image yet realistic view of one-self and the situation. A confident person is someone who trust his own abilities, have a general sense of control in their lives, and believe that, within reason, they will be able to do what they wish, plan, and expect. According to Skehan (1989), available research does not show a single clearly-defined relationship between personality traits (such as self-confidence) and second language. He further points out that a major difficulty in investigating personality variables is that of identification and measurement, pointing toward a relatively new area of potential research needing attention. However, existing literature suggests that language anxiety can be correlated with students’ negative concepts of themselves as language learners, and negative expectations for language learning. With this in consideration, self-confidence levels can be viewed not only as a personality trait with complex factors affecting high or low confidence, but also as an outcome of high anxiety levels. This assumption is of considerable interest as anxiety tends to create negative self-perceptions about language performance and can then be tied directly to an increase in negative attitudes towards second language learning and a decrease in risk-taking and sociability. In different respect, overly high levels of confidence in language learning can have similar negative effects on language learning, hindering advancement in language proficiency as over-confidence, due to self-perceptions of high degrees of performance in oral/written communication or in positive socialization, can lead a language learner to believe that he or she has learned all there is to know about a language and lose sight of mastering higher complex linguistic skill in the SL. For example, an individual who sees that his or her skill level in the second language is superior to other SL learners who struggle with the SL, he or she might make substantial mistakes in grammar or comprehension, but remain completely unaware of their errors and thus not improve in the acquisition of the second language. Horwitz (1986) brings up an interesting concept regarding self-confidence by citing that language learning is a profoundly unsettling psychological proposition because it directly threatens an individual’s self-concept and worldview. A bold statement, but it does indicate that language learning, as a whole, can be a major contributor to variable self-confidence levels based on how each individual interprets their learning in terms of culture, grammar, or any other related language learning aspect. Variable self-confidence levels in second language learners are profoundly impacted by a complex set of individualised variables that it would be difficult to label each and every possible contributor to self-confidence levels. Simply recognising self-confidence levels in SL learners as a result of language learning and of anxiety opens a variety of potential research methods to begin measuring cause and effect of variable self-confidence. Instructor-Learner Interaction and Classroom Procedures Young (1991) asserts that a learner’s beliefs about language learning can contribute to the psychological anxiety in students. Skills such as proper pronunciation, depth of vocabulary, and fluency may vary in importance for learners in relation to second language learning. Similarly, Horwitz also studied the effect of various learners’ perceptions to language learning. In fact, Horwitz reports that a number of foreign language students in his study may have unachievable personal goals and misconceptions about language learning. For example, a few respondents expressed their optimism in achieving native-like fluency in the second language in two years of study, while others expressed their belief that language learning is tantamount to learning how to translate. Clearly, these idealistic beliefs contribute to language anxiety, more evidently when their beliefs and reality clash. A very good example would be the overly optimistic goal of beginners to achieve native-like fluency in the target language in two years. Over time, the students would naturally tend to get frustrated to find the reality of their imperfect pronunciation even after a lot of practice. On the other hand, an instructor’s beliefs about language teaching can also be a source of anxiety among second language learners. The manifestations of instructor’s belief can more clearly be seen in the methodology or approach in which an instructor conducts the second language class. For example, most instructors, who employ the Grammar Translation Method to teach English, will undoubtedly argue that the most fundamental reason for learning the language is to give learners access to English literature, develop their minds through second language learning, and to build in students the kinds of grammar, reading, vocabulary, and translation skills requisite to pass any one of the variety of compulsory tests necessitated in educational institutions. These instructors often emphasize on the strict rules of grammar syntax and proper form in sentence construction. While the teacher believes that his role in class is to constantly test and correct student’s errors, some of the students might develop anxiety over their class performance. On the other hand, some instructors may choose to employ a different methodology in language teaching. Some instructors may choose to use Total Physical Response method for learners to enjoy the sessions and create a less stressful environment for the students. Practitioners argue that recreating the natural process for children first learning their native language will facilitate the learning of the second language in the same way. More importantly, it asserts that language learning method involves a substantial amount of listening and comprehension with a mixture of various physical response such as smiling, reaching, and grabbing. Thus, the aim was to lower the affective filter in order to accelerate language learning among students. Taking into account the beliefs of both learners and instructors as well as the sources of language anxieties felt by students in a classroom setting, it is also important to look into the dynamics of the learning environment. Hadfield (1992) has identified seven traits of a good classroom dynamics as shown in Table 1. Table 1: Traits of Good Classroom Dynamics 1. Student groups are cohesive and have a positive, supportive atmosphere. Group members are interested in each other and feel they have something in common. 2. The members of the group are able to compromise. They have a sense of direction as a group and are able to define their goals in group as well as individual terms. 3. Group members are not cliquey or territorial but interact happily with all members of the group. Members of the group listen to each other and take turns. 4. Individuals in the group are not competitive and do not seek individual attention at the expense of others. Members cooperate in completing tasks and are able to work together productively. 5. Group members are able to empathize with each other and understand each other’s points of view even if they do not share them. The members of the group trust each other. 6. The group has a sense of fun. 7. Group members have a positive attitude to themselves as learners, to the language and culture being studied, and to the learning experience. Interpretation of Educator Beliefs on Language Learning Many paradigms and principles in mentioned in existing literature in teacher cognition are generally by nature unobservable and researchers have defined such principles differently. Freeman defines the categories in teacher education as â€Å"knowledge, beliefs and perceptions that shape what the teachers know, and therefore what they do in their teaching. † The keywords in Freeman’s categorization would be knowledge, beliefs and perceptions. These keywords would therefore define the scope of the teacher’s competency in relation to language teaching. Ellis (2006) would further refine the three words to discuss the teacher’s biographical experience and how it contributes to their professional knowledge. Ellis (2006) proposes â€Å"knowledge, beliefs, and insights† as refinement of the Freeman’s categorization. Knowledge (cited after Woods by Ellis) would be related to facts and the â€Å"things we know†. Beliefs refers to the instructor’s â€Å"acceptance of a proposition †¦ for which there is an accepted disagreement. † Ellis further elaborates on this irony as â€Å"ESL students need explicit focus on grammar as well as communicative practice. † Lastly, insight would relate to the instructor’s â€Å"personal practical knowledge: knowledge which is experiential, embodied, and reconstructed out of the narratives of a teacher’s life†. Ellis (2006) further elaborates insight as â€Å"an understanding gained from personal experience that allows us to see how previously understood realities could be different. It illuminates something previously unseen, makes sense of something previously incomprehensible, or lends a new perspective on something taken for granted. † Conclusion Different language experiences will result to rich and diverse insights, which can be very useful to second language teachers. However, there is yet to be a methodical study of a knowledge database of the learning experiences of English second language teachers. Formal education would require and ensure teachers are equip with the knowledge about phonology, grammar syntax, bilingualism, and motivation and methodology, etc. In addition, beliefs about the theories within language learning are also formed in the process as teachers develop a technique or approach in second language teaching. More importantly, teachers gain insights from the personal experiences, particularly in teaching second language. These insights are gained from reflection and recognition the complex, interwoven, rich, and diverse nature of what teachers â€Å"know†. The contents of this teacher booklet all aim to give the SLA teacher some insight into the areas in which he exerts significant impact. If taken to heart, he will indeed be able to make a dent in language learning by lessening the anxiety of his students and increasing their self-confidence. References Chang, Y. S. , Horwitz, E. K. and Schallert, D. L. (1999). Language Anxiety: Differentiating Writing and Speaking Components. Language Learning, 49 (3), 417-446. Cummins, J. (2000). Immersion education for the millennium: What we have learned from 30 years of research on second language immersion. Retrieved on October 23, 2007 from www. iteachilearn. com/cummins/immersion2000. html Ehrman, M. E. , Leaver, B. L. & Oxford, R. L. (2003). A brief overview of individual differences in second language learning. System, 31 (3), 313-330. Ellis, E. M. (2006). Language learning experience as a contributor to ESOL teacher cognition. Teaching English as Second Language or Foreign Language, 10 (1). Gardner, R. C. & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House. Hadfield, J. (1992). Classroom dynamics. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Student effective reactions and the teaching and learning of foreign languages. College of Education: The University of Texas at Austin, Texas. Horwitz, E. K. , Horwitz, M. B. & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70 (2). Huang, J. (2004). Voices from Chinese students: Professor’s use of English affects academic listening. College Student Journal, 38(2), 212-223. Hyltenstam, K. (1992). Non-native features of near-native speakers: on the ultimate attainment of childhood L2 learners. In R. J. Harris (ed. ) Cognitive processing in bilinguals, 351 367. Amsterdam: North-Holland. MacIntyre, P. D. & Gardner, D. (1994). How does anxiety affect second language learning? A reply to Sparks and Ganschow. The Modern Language Journal, 79 (1). Skehan, P. (1989). Individual differences in second-language learning. London: Edward Arnold Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75 (4).

Discuss Marx's concept of surplus value and the exploitation of Essay

Discuss Marx's concept of surplus value and the exploitation of workers by capitalists. How convincing is his argument - Essay Example Marx also considered labor as a form of private property, classical economists, whereby considering the social labor as dead labor. Nevertheless, the main objective of the paper is to analyze various arguments by Marx concerning the concept of surplus value and exploitation of workers by capitalist, in order to determine how convincing they are. Marx redefined human being as a social being, who conceives the human generic life as a social activity of labor in a way that the concept of alienation is established with a certain meaning. On the other hand, there are consequences related to the difference of the definitions, role of the concepts of value as it is depicted in his works. The theory of labor value focuses on the scope of economic investigation, whereby even the historians of economic thought included Marx among classical economists. Therefore, Marx’s theories are depicted as radicalized versions of the classical theory of labor value. Marx’s concept of labor va lue has been inspired Neoclassical or NeoRicardian theory, which argues that labor is a unit of measure of commodities and capital, as he applies the argument to discuss the theory of capitalist exploitation (Skillman, 362). Moreover, the difference appears more relevant to remember, since the works various economists such as Torrens and Sraffa have embraced the knowledge of labor value. This is through the Ricardo’s theory, which serves as a unit of measure of capital and social products under assumptions. Moreover, the effort of assigning the role of measuring the distribution of the social products to the concept of value is a crucial role in Marx theoretical framework. The critical role refers to the specifically social and historically relative state of production mode, which depends on the exchange value. There are claims by Marx indicating that the classical economists identified labor as a source of value, and they considered the law of the capitalist mode of producti on to be natural and internal. This resulted to consideration of value form being quite indifferent or external to the nature of the commodity. There is a significant explanation of Marx perception concerning the inability to deduce more developed form of value such as money and capital or labor from economic classes. Therefore, there is a critical aspect of Marx methods, which depends on exposing the relative value of social labor in the contribution made in the first section of Book I of The Capital (Skillman, 309). Marx claimed that the reason why political economist fails to recognize the source of value in labor is due to exclusive concern on the question related to distribution of the social products, which relate to the magnitude of the value. Consequently, they consider the labor manifests in the value of commodity, hence making them unable to differentiate between labor producing use value and labor producing exchange value. Invocation of price value equivalence by Marx is considered as ideal case of the commodity exchange, which is appropriate based on pursuing the basic logic of capitalist exploitation and treatment of alternative circuit of capital that fails to account for a mode of production in which they operate. Moreover, Marx suggests that an imprecise conception of capital is a social relation of production, whereby three divergent circuits of capital that

Assignment (most current IT threats) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Assignment (most current IT threats) - Essay Example Trojan.Premele infects a computer system by presenting itself as a fake Adobe Flash update (Symantec, 2013). When a user allows the software to be downloaded and installed, it is executed to form a new executable file. The software also creates a new registry entry that makes the file to be executed every time Windows starts. The program further modifies a number of registries. When the computer is connected to the Internet, the malware connects to some remote locations and may install other malware into the infected system. The malware that is installed by Trojan.Premele way cause further harm to the computer system and expose it to even more malicious software. Trojan.Premele can be detected by antivirus or antimalware software installed in a computer (Symantec, 2013). It can also be detected by the changes that it makes to registries and the new registries that it creates. It can also be detected by the computers that it connects to remotely. The malware can be avoided by installing a firewall or/and antivirus that is up-to-date. The use of complex passwords on computers also lowers the risk of infection by the

Organisational Behaviour and Change Management Essay

Organisational Behaviour and Change Management - Essay Example So, in 2005, it actualized that plan by adopting the diversity program. This program apart from improving Nike’s ethical image, also positively affects the economic and non-economic aspects of Nike’s functioning. Importantly it opens up a surge of opportunities and so this paper as part of a strategic plan will discuss those opportunities, focusing on the ethical dilemmas associated with those opportunities. Then the paper will discuss the actualization of those opportunities through optimization of the strategic plan, incorporating strategies from other organization. Any organized human activity, which is done in-group, will be most times constituted into an organization. So, organization is a ‘structure’ where ‘collage’ of workers will do their allocated work under the supervision of a leader, for the benefit of the organization as well as them. When one speaks or thinks about an industry or an office or an organization, the ‘mental picture’, one visualizes is of machines, large assembling plants, etc, etc (in case of industries) and papers, computers, cabins etc, etc (in case of offices). But, the crucial thing that the mind ‘crops out’ is the picture of a working human. Without delving deeply into why mind always associate industry and office with non-living things, the point is, humans are the crucial things who can put an organization in a cruise mode in terms of production, sales, profits, etc. So, the workers only form the crucial ‘cog’ in the running of the organization. On ly if these crucial workers are recruited or staffed optimally through an effective recruitment process, the organization can achieve optimum success. But, for the organizations particularly multinational companies, recruiting the apt workers is not the end of the task, they have to recruit employees from diverse backgrounds in their home operations and

Dekalog movie review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dekalog movie review - Essay Example A melancholic tone is used in all except the final film. The series illustrates a modern equivalent of scenes from the past artwork on the Ten Commandments. The producer was inspired by the philosophical challenge and needed to use this series to represent the hardships that were encountered in the Polish society while deliberately eliminating the issues on politics. Creative and unusual themes like adultery and stealing have been brought forward in various narrative styles ranging from a somber tragedy to pure black comedy. The producer renders a great service to the society by showing the relevance of these ancient procedures or rules and imperatives to the current modern living. In the Decalogue I, the meaning of the first commandment; I am the Lord thy God, thou shall have no other gods before me is well dramatized. Three characters are brought forward. First is the father who thinks that religion is not important and has put his faith in technology and reason. Second is Pawel, who wonders about things in life and third is Irena, a Christian who desires her nephew to know about the spiritual realm. In this case the meaning of this commandment is brought out to show our current identity by identifying with the three characters. Despite being tempted to be faithless, God portrays himself in the midst of our lives and challenges us to trust in him ( Carr, pg. 81). Yes. The story and the first commandment are connected and this is relevant in that they bring out how much people have failed o acknowledge the existence of God but rather chose to worship other Gods in the current modern society. It is relevant today because the true worship has been neglected and people are engaged in material things and have outgrown