Saturday, August 31, 2019

English Olvier Twist essay Essay

Dickens has a very unique style; he uses very descriptive language that contains a lot of adjectives. He also uses lists particularly when he’s describing a place in the following passages the features of dickens style are evident.  What impressions does the reader gain of the nineteenth century in London?Dickens knew London very well and in Oliver twist he describes the London he knew. The artful dodger takes Oliver to Fagin’s den through London’s streets. The reader gets the feeling of speed to show this dickens uses a list â€Å"They crossed from the angel into st Johns road; struck down the small street which terminates at saddlers welis theatre†.  This sounds like directions for somebody who doesn’t know where they are going it creates a sense of speed. As Oliver looks around him he realises that he is in a poor, slum area dickens write  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A dirtier or more wretched place he had never seen†Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"And the air was impregnated with filthy odours†.  By writing this Dickens gives the reader a feeling of what sort of disgusting area Oliver is travelling through. The word dirtier suggests that the area looks poor and indecent. The word wretched means that even the people who live there are unhappy. The word filthy gives an impression of a smelly odour. Dickens also appeals to not just to the sense of sight but to the sense of smell too. How does dickens create an atmosphere of sadness at the start of chapter 18?  At the start of chapter 18 Oliver is recaptured by Fagin again and locked up in his den. Dickens describes how Oliver is feeling at this point of time. Dickens writes  Ã¢â‚¬Å"And so Oliver remained all that day and for the greater part of many subsequent days†.  He uses repetition to describe the pasting of time so slowly for Oliver, he also uses an alliteration the words left and long also to show the pasting of time. At the end of the paragraph dickens uses the word â€Å"sad† to describe Oliver mood because the times passing by so slowly.  Dickens then describes the room. He uses adjectives to show the large, dirty and the darkness of the room. Dickens uses â€Å"Great high and large†Ã‚  To describe how small Oliver feels walking the large doors. Dickens also uses the words  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Black, neglect and dust†Ã‚  To show the dirtiness and darkness in the room. Alliteration has also been used  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Dismal and dreary†Ã‚  This describes the gloominess and the sadness in the room. These words have long symbols.  Dickens then describes what its like for Oliver inside room  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Spiders had built their webs in the angles of the walls and ceilings.†Ã‚  The quote describes the neglected house the same way as Oliver was. Dickens also uses the quote.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The mice would scamper across the floor and run back terrified to their holes†.  This quote is similar to when Nancy used to say that her and Oliver were like brother and sister. Oliver was terrified just like the mice when people entered the room. Dickens starts his description of Oliver and Sikes journey to chirstey at dawn. The streets are quiet, dickens writes  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A few country wagons were slowly toiling†.  Dickens uses toiling and slowly to show the pace is slow. As the passage goes on the pace speeds up. Dicken’s shows the pace is speeding up by using a quote,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"other shops began to be unclosed and a few scattered people were met with†.  In the next paragraph the pace increases, Dickens lists all the people coming into London  By the end of this passage the streets become livelier, also at the end of this passage dickens uses alliteration a quote to show this is  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Shoreditch, Smithfield, Sheets and Swelled†. These words all begin with the letter S this shows the pace and movement. Dickens also uses the word ‘roar’ this gives the reader an idea of what sort of sounds he hears.  This carried on in the next few lines, Dickens writes  Ã¢â‚¬Å"So into Smithfield from which the latter place a rose a trumult of discordant sounds†.  Dickens uses the word discordant this means formitting out; he also uses the word trumult, which means noisy and bustle.  The book Oliver Twist is a very different book compared to the other novels that Charles Dickens wrote. But in all his books he uses the same technique, which keeps the reader interested.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The external influence for Lufthansa airline

The external influence for Lufthansa airline was the gulf war which realized a decline of traveling passengers.   With the increased number of flights the they had to com up with a strategy to enable them to survive in the market. To do this the company started by redeveloping workshops tat would see change management instilled in the managers and the whole company as a whole. This therefore enabled the workers to be sensitized for the need for a radical change. This initial crisis management meeting was the starting point for the recovery team.The other step towards change was when the company decided to move from being publicly owned to privatization and the need to embrace restructuring that could see to it that there is an increase of cost and revenue transparency as well as market proximity and thus reducing the disintegration in decision process. There was a need for the company to focus on their external relationship. This was a result of experiencing overcapacity. Therefore there was the need to change their strategy of growth through internal strength to an alternative strategy of growth through partnership.   In the end of the 20th century the strategy of the airlines changed from competition between airlines to competition between networks.   Ã‚  So there was need to strengthen integration and alliance strategies.Change is inevitable in the endeavor of a company or an organization to remain relevant in its business. Change comes along with its advantages and disadvantages. For instance due to technological change some of the employees might be found redundant and therefore be retrenched. Also change might require some expertise manpower and therefore leading the company to hire skilled labor. It is therefore the responsibility of the managers to manage all manners of changes in the organization that matters, hence determining the success of the organization (Elsevier, 2005).At Lufthansa Airways the managers have been trained to counter change s trategically. They are sensitized such that they consistently redesign the company to fit the change in line with a new product. This is seen when the company takes on a new route.   The company makes the staffs to readjust frequently to the changing trends in business. For instance, the sometimes considers readjusting its payment mode to counter the fluctuation of the US dollar currency which the company is currently using.   Though this redesigning has not yet been approved, it shows that the company is ready to seal the loss it is encountering through this fluctuation.In the endeavor to manage the changing trends in the marketing field the company consistently comes up with new marketing strategies. The example provided earlier of the company contemplating of changing their trade currency due to fluctuation and its unpredictability shows that the company is proactive since the management foresees problems in the market which has already had an impact in terms of their revenue . For instance if the management decides to change the denomination of trade, they have to consider the pros and cons of the move before finally settling for the decision. The company is currently researching on the issue and this shows that indeed the management is sensitive on the issues thus manifesting a sound managementThe management of Lufthansa Airways handles change by prioritizing the change they have to take. In doing so, the management informs all the staff through written forms and meeting about the change. Of course, some of the staffs tend to resist change but the move is pacified by the management by ensuring the staffs that apparently resists change are informed about the need for change at the particular time. The staffs are taken through training and are shown the relevance of the change to particular individual and the importance of the change in reflection to the company’s goals.For instance when a new office is established on a new route, the staffs that are to be affected are put on a training session so that they are enlightened on the need for the expansion, how they will benefit individually and how they will be resourceful to the company. In essence the employees’ attitude is taken care of and the employees get motivated to take the responsibility they are given.This also tackles the issue of resistance to change since the employees are made to be part of decision making in the change process. Thus the company successfully manages change by ensuring that its vision is articulated. In addition the management ensures that they establish core values on which the workers will consistently work on (Handy, 1993). Thus in the process of managing change the management also succeeds in enabling the workers focus on quality services by encouraging them to participate, and pump a sense of ownership into them and shared accountability.The company’s Information Technology is wanting and this is affecting their communication. L ack of a thorough networked computer within the company’s premises makes it difficult for information to be relayed from one point to another. I T is indispensable in any business at this point and time in the contemporary world. The company has to invest in this technology and use it to do most of its transactions thus doing most of the business. It has to develop a website that will enable them to market their products globally.This problem of inadequate Information Technology has been deliberately caused by lack of prioritizing it as important. This in turn costs the company extra costs by keeping many employees who could have otherwise have been done away with. Therefore the main challenge in implementing this issue is that the current employees have a negative attitude towards the introduction of the new technology.The company should endeavor to improve the quality of their service. Partially their importation and distribution process is thwarted by the insufficient tech nology. They ought to employ the right employees in terms of the qualification too. This will make them to be more professional in their operations and thus increasing their productivity.In the endeavor to improve the quality of the company’s services the company ought to employ more employees and probably establish a synchronized customer care department. In this breath the company has to ensure that each department within their operation has defined roles and thus whenever a client asks for a query he/she is directed to the right department. This will make work easier for each person in the organization and thus leaving the client who is paramount in this organization pleased with their work. This also creates a win-win situation between the company’s management and other employees.The company can improve in minimizing the cost they incur by introduction of a synchronized technology and ensuring that information flows within the hierarchies of the company. Most of th e losses the company incurs as a result of poor communication between the company and its chain of distribution. This poor communication results to lose of customers’ due to dissatisfaction of their services. The company should not fear to hire competent people because they might be expensive in their charges and salaries, but they (competent people) are bound to work and bring results.The company should also ensure that its employees are trained and sensitized about time management. In so doing the company will save a lot in terms of the backlog of the work not attended to due to poor time management. The company will also have to solve the problem of perennial absenteeism among its employees. Time management is crucial in any organization that deals with supply and distribution of commodities since and if it is not taken into consideration, it might lead to loses as a result of cancelled orders due to late delivery and sometimes cancellation of the services. The challenge t hat might come along with implementation of strategies to manage time is that some employees might feel that their freedom is curtailed and feel that they are monitored around which might reflect negatively in their attitude and eventually their performance.The organization can resolve resistance by taking into account the needs, attitudes, and beliefs of the individuals involved as well as forces of the organization (Greenbury, 1999). The company should come up with a strategy that will ensure individuals are personally benefiting from the change so that they can be willing to participate in the change process. Positive and strong pressures for change can be established by creating shared perceptions by the group members of the need for change, thus making the pressure come form within the unit.The company can also reduce amount of opposition to change when those people who are to be changed and those who are to exert influence for a change have a strong sense of belonging to the s ame group.   There is a receptiveness for change from within to be easily acceptable than that that emanate from outside (Armstrong, 2002) it is therefore wise for the company to initiate change from within. Sometimes it is indispensable for change to come from outside, for instance technological change has to be borrowed from outside and at this time it is the duty of the company to enlighten their employees on the benefits of this kind of change. The company should at this point train their employee. This will make them to be positive in their attitude towards the change and thus work towards the success of the implementation of change.In addition the company must ensure that all relevant people in the group share the information relating to the need for change. They should plan for change and be ready to face the consequences of change. There is also the need of all the managers at all levels to deliberately open communication channels for the success of the process of change.à ‚   Also for the success of a change process the company has to specify the progress criteria against which improvement will be measured. This will reduce the possibility of conflict among the members of the organization thus reduction of resistance to change.List of ReferencesArmstrong, M. (2002) How to Become Even a Better Manager. London: Kogan PageBarbara S. (2006) Change management. NY Person EducationElsevier, B. (2005) Positive Working Relationships. London: Kogan PageGreenbury, J. (1999) Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Prentice HallReferencesHandy, C (1993) Understanding Organizations. Berkshire: PenguinMullins, L (2000) Management and Organizational Behavior. Berkshire: PenguinRollin, D (1988) Organizational Behavior and Analysis. New York: Wiley

Thursday, August 29, 2019

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

Deception - Essay Example The ad partially raises doubts whether Obama is prepared for the presidency job hence the ad suggests that Obama has no leadership qualifications, he is more of rock star and he is seen not to be able (and ready) to lead (John McCain celebrity Ad – Feat. Paris Hilton, n.p). John McCain’s ad mocks the broad and undeniable appeal that Obama has won in his campaigns. The ad also tries to knock down Obama’s manifestos as it portrays them as pretty but empty words which will not be fulfilled. It also changes Barrack Obama’s manifesto to negative. The ad gives McCain a tremendous win as he is using Obama’s enormous appeal against himself. John McCain ad gives him great hope that the Americans will vote for the more familiar and less glamorous. The ad classifies the real barrack Obama as a cheat hence Obama campaigns is full of lies and that he cannot deliver what he is promising to the people and the promises he is making are strategies that he has planned so as to win the

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The Harlem Renaissance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Harlem Renaissance - Essay Example The Harlem Renaissance took place in the 1920's mostly in the Harlem district of New York city, an area of three square miles where the African-Americans converged after the World War I. The Africa-Americans from the South were attracted towards the better economic opportunities and the more tolerant attitudes in the North, and especially in New York, and settled down in Harlem to form some of the most concentrated of African-American communities in existence today. Those African-Americans already settled in New York soon gravitated to this area, attracted by the buzz of new music, new art, and new possibilities. Douglas defines exactly what the writers, poets, musicians as well as visual and performing artists of the period were able to create, because all the angst, anguish and lyricism of the African-Americans poured out in their artistic and intellectual expressions. They told the story of African-Americans from the African-American perspective. The common themes of literary, musical and artistic works of the period were alienation, segregation, the common usage and appreciation of folk material, the reinforcement of the blues tradition, and a general air of optimism. and in it he described Harlem Renaissance as a "spiritual coming of age", wherein the African-American population was able to co... Magazines like Crisis, published by W. E. B. Du Bois and urged racial pride among African Americans, and Opportunity, published by the National Urban League encouraged the blossoming of sophisticated and highly original African-American literature, and also a certain degree of pride in being an African-American. A lot of this was possible also because of the popularity of things African-American amongst a big section of the whites, who were fascinated by the influx of African-American talent. One of the most important and well-researched aspects of the Harlem Renaissance is the literature born in the period amongst the African-Americans of Harlem. Writers like Arna Bontemps, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neale Hurston, Rudolph Fisher, and Jean Toomer produced a body of work that was both intensive as well as extensive in scope. Writers like Langspon Hughes made an immediate and lasting impact. Hughes left behind him a huge body of work, that included twelve volumes of poetry, as well as various works of fiction, drama and history. His work was full of a love of humanity, especially for African-Americans, a warm humor and understanding, and included a strong voice against the segregation of colored people all packaged in a sophisticated style of writing. Some of his works that made him famous are The Big Sea , The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, The Panther and the Lash, The Ways of White Folks. Other voices like Claude McKay, whom Hughes admired, were equally passionate in the subjects of romantic love, and a love of the Africa-American people in general, which is evident in some of his

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Think about the five key media studies concepts and choose one of Essay

Think about the five key media studies concepts and choose one of them. Outline the main characteristics of, and theories and de - Essay Example Media presentations seek to alter or reinforce the opinion of the audience on specific topics (Abercrombie, 2006). The creator of a presentation first establishes the audiences she wishes to communicate to and then determines the best way to present the message. Upon establishing his target audience, the creator considers the best type of media presentation to relay his sentiments. The audience provides guidelines for establishing the genre of presentation and approaches to be used when narrating the intended message. Mass media does not rely only on initial presentation when conveying a particular message. It relies on representation as well. Primary bearers of the message relay the message to other people who did not witness the initial presentation. It is paramount to affirm that the audience is a factor that motivates mass media presentation. Audience Media would not exist in the absence of an audience (Cruz & Lewi, 2004). Media groups are formulated with a basic goal of making p rofit. Therefore, various media entities employ various measures to attract audience and make their audience base bigger. The creator or producer of a mass media message uses existing media channels to convey their message to the intended listener or observer. They are likely to pick a media team that has a big audience base. According to Hart (2006), technology improves ease of reaching audiences. In addition, technology has led to an increase in media houses that result in fragmentation of audience. Early media houses enjoyed the privilege of large audiences. The current technology age, competition and advancement of mass media industry has reduced the large audiences to smaller groups because of time factor. The audience can only engage in one specific activity at a time. However, representation relays information and generates fame for a particular media house resulting in enlargement of the house’s audience network. The audience is divisible into several entities includi ng adults, children, communities and vulnerable groups. Individual persons make up an audience but exist as several independent entries (O'Sullivan, Dutton, & Rayner, 2004). This implies that each individual in the audience perceives the message, internalizes and interprets it differently. Representation of the initial message may not achieve the intended purpose or undergo distortions that misrepresent the initial message. Similarly, a text that does not impress primary listeners may fade from their thoughts making representation minimal. The creator must ensure he generates interest and excitement among his primary listeners. There are two types of mass media audience, niche and general (Nightingale, 2008). The general audience includes all or several categories of community classes that relay messages on large scale. A niche audience is a small group that is capable of influencing major changes in the community. The audience is further divided along social status and economic lin es (Nightingale, 2008). Two theories try to define media with regard to audience. They are hypodermic syringe theory and culmination theory. Hypodermic syringe theory dictates that mass media acts as a syringe that injects attitudes, beliefs and ideas into unsuspecting public (Hanes, 2000). The public that serves as the audience is deemed powerless and vulnerable to messages and images broadcasted by media. The impact may be positive or negative. For instance, watching many violent movies may turn a person into a

Monday, August 26, 2019

Industrial Espionage at XYZ Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Industrial Espionage at XYZ - Assignment Example That in itself is a felony under this state’s laws and could also fall under embezzlement laws. The administrator discreetly monitored Mr. Roberts’ activities for quite some time before Human Resources decided it was time to make a move. Using Remote Access Software, namely Manage Engine’s OPS manager the administrator was able to ascertain that Mr. Roberts had inserted a USB thumb drive, which was in direct contravention of company policy. With this information, the administrator asked Mr. Roberts to meet with him in his own cubicle. Becoming worried, Roberts then proceeded to delete the information from the USB and denied that there was ever anything on the thumb drive. It was then confiscated and Mr. Roberts was suspended. Following procedures, and thinking that Mr. Roberts did not have the technical knowledge to permanently wipe the drive, the administrator made an image copy of the drive which he named Disk G. He and I have spent several days attempting to r ecreate any data that is contained on the original USB drive, which is still secured in the Company’s vault. ... of them falling into other hands is dangerous, especially since the FBI considers industrial espionage as an act of Cold War, particularly when a foreign country such as China is involved in the act (2012). According to the referenced website, China is one of the biggest culprits in industrial espionage and only seldom recognized copyrights and patents outside their country. With what was found I recommended to the HR and administrator press charges against Mr. Roberts on behalf of their company. The district attorney concurs and assures me the case will be prosecutable, provided the administrator is able to discreetly explain what was on the disc. CASE 2 This case involves a group of students at the university who have been committing terroristic acts upon fellow students at the school. Acting on a tip that the group, considered a cult by campus security, was planning a series of coordinated attacks, security agents consisting of campus police, local police and Federal agents, raide d the hideout of the group, located in a house at a remote off campus location. Along with some papers, which include basic generic information about the students’ courses and do not contain any useful information, there was a floppy disk seized during the raid. The confidential informant assures the investigators that the disk is pay dirt and it contains very useful data on what, when and where the attacks are. Not only that, it is purported to include the names of group members. With that in mind I took the disk, labeled Case 2FDD Image, back to my computer lab to decipher its contents. The first step I undertook, before examining the contents, was to make an image of the disk, which was successful. This is to ensure the integrity of the disk is not compromised so that the subsequent

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Marketing Strategy for a New Product Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing Strategy for a New Product - Essay Example The structure P&G adopted changed from a â€Å"Global Matrix† to a hybrid organizational structure. Roald Jean Degenalso termed it as â€Å"Front-Back Hybrid Matrix organization† structure. The structure focusses on two key areas in its operations; namely the customer markets designed on the front end and the end products designed on the back end. Therefore, it can combine both customer focus and responsiveness.P&G has four major divisions with each having a sub-division. These include Europe consisting of Middle East/Africa, Western Europe and Central Europe. North America has the United States/Puerto Rico and Canada. Latin America has Asia/Australia. Lastly, Greater China, with its headquarters at Singapore, has Northeast Asia, Australia and India/ASEAN.The organization functions from an additional matrix across two parallel organizations. Key areas of focus here include finance and accounting, information technology, customer business developments, product supply, ex ternal relations, consumer and market knowledge, research and development, legal and human resources. There are unit managers charged with two responsibilities. These include looking afterWashing clothes and maintaining good hygiene is undertaken by most people. Majority of people in the 21st century are spending much of their time in the laundry. This means that most people are valuing laundry services. With the current advancements in technology, there is a growing demand for sophisticated laundry products by the consumers.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Rape and sexual assault Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Rape and sexual assault - Essay Example In this paper I would like to examine what is actually meant by sexual assault. I will then study the statistics and finally the law that covers the sexual assault. The CCR website (1997) defines sexual assault as a physical or verbal act that threatens a person’s trust and safety and is sexual in nature. In a sexual assault the victims, either a girl or a boy, indulge into a sexual activity either forcefully or through deceit. Teenagers are more vulnerable to this act. This is the reason for which a number of cases related to adolescent molestation by a relative or a date make the headlines in the newspapers. Sexual assault often leads to other problems in teenagers as well which may include delinquent behavior, school problems, refusal to accept the authority and eating problems. Sexual assault by an acquaintance is the most common category of the assault. The acquaintance may be a close friend, a date, employer, colleague or a relative. In this category it is always the male who perpetrates the female. It is always the perpetrator, who is responsible for the act regardless of the fact what the victim was wearing or if she expressed her disapproval for the act or not. The CCR website (1997) puts 100% responsibility on the perpetrator. Rape is defined as an act of violence where sex is used as a weapon. In most of the cases the rapists fancy their own myths which they believe justify their act. Most of the rapists are of the view that if they spend money on a woman she becomes their rightful property. Others believe that women find it difficult to accept the offer for sex. Therefore they mean yes when they say no. Some others believe that women love to be aggressively pursued by the males (CCR website, 1997). The CA Code (n.d.) explains unlawful sexual intercourse as a sexual activity where the perpetrator indulges in sexual activity with a person other than the spouse and with a person less than eighteen years of

Mental Health Nursing Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mental Health Nursing Care - Essay Example These thoughts and feelings affected my behavior by making me more irritable towards them or thinking general thoughts about them – that people with mental behavior are to be ignored or discounted by society. I hope to be proven wrong in all my thoughts, feelings, and attitudes about the mentally ill. I hope that I would be given a reason to change these perceptions. After watching the DVD, I was changed significantly in all my perceptions, feelings, attitudes, and my future behavior towards mental illness and the mentally ill. I now know that I was wrong to think, feel, and behave the way I did about the mentally ill. I now know that the labels society places on those who have mental illness may sometimes be wrong and that our beliefs about people with mental illness may be (and sometimes is) wrong. I also believe now that people with mental illness can actually function well in society and can contribute significantly to normal societal functions and activities. I am happy to have been proven wrong in my perceptions about mental

Friday, August 23, 2019

Brutality on women by the Japanese police Essay

Brutality on women by the Japanese police - Essay Example Brutality against women can be of many forms. It may entail enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer, torture, rape or even the non-spoken form of cruelty. The torture of not being able to freely state your thoughts or raise a voice to receive what you are entitled to. While looking at the Japanese economy, an act of disgrace which still murk golden pages of history would be the issue of the Japanese Imperial Government kidnapping and enforcing young girls under their occupation during the World War II into sex slaves. However, the Japanese Government still defends its acts and denies that the heinous act ever occurred. Walking down the lines of time, we can witness the estimates made by researchers about the number of â€Å"comfort girls† exploited during the past. The figure is expected to be around eighty to two hundred thousand; women were abused and brutalized in the â€Å"comfort centers†. The comfort women were administered, processed, dispatched and controlled by the Japan military. These women were to accompany the military to conquered places or colonial province and comfort them during the times of World War 2. These women were forced to please the military personals unless they were in hospital, there were no fixed leaves for the women, it purely depended on the needs of the men. They endured abuse and violence and were forced to accept military currency for their â€Å"services†. The torment of being forced everyday drained these women emotionally and psychologically. Post the war these women were allowed to leave without any sense of guilt or apologies from the gov ernment of Japan. These women could not openly speak about their ordeals due to the pressures from the society and were pushed to suffer the trauma silently.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Best Way of Communication Essay Example for Free

The Best Way of Communication Essay Nowadays, much of the communication that takes place involves some sort of equipment, such as faxes, telephone calls, and e-mails. According to an investigation by The Associated Press (2010), communication equipment is becoming indispensable to people. In other words, people rely on it as never before. Is it proof that face-to-face communication is no longer important? Absolutely not! Face-to-face communication lets people directly know the actual personalities of people, and interact with each other without any barriers. Although as advanced technology develops, people have many new ways to keep connect with others, face-to-face communication is still the most important and effective method to communicate with others in education, business, and daily life. Education Online education is a teaching method, which uses a network media to allow students and teachers to carry out teaching and learning activities even thousands of miles away. First of all, it really breaks the constraints of time and space, because students and teachers do not have to go to school buildings. They can learn or teach anytime and anywhere. For example, Open University of Britain offers an online and distance education system called ODE, which has a worldwide reputation for education. This program, which has flexible teaching time, exclusively utilizes the online mode of teaching without any face-to-face sessions. In this way, Open University enrolls new students worldwide, and it gives people who do not have much time opportunities to gain professional knowledge. The students do not have to go to Britain, and they do not have to pay the high living expenses of studying in the UK. What’s more, the ODE, through a network teaching platform called FirstClass, provides online learning guides, software demo sites, articles, reports, books, and information resource links to students, and the students can get those resources at anytime. There are other online courses offered by reputable universities and colleges that allow students from different countries to opt for courses pertaining to their individual fields of education. According to an investigation by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, there were over 3,000 open courseware courses  available from over 300 universities worldwide in 2006. For example, Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn. In addition, each course includes a full set of class lectures produced in high-quali ty video accompanied by such other course materials as syllabi, suggested readings, exams, and problem sets. The lectures are available as downloadable videos, and an audio-only version is also offered. These courses allow people access to information and knowledge in their favorite fields. However, distance education lacks discipline and provides poor opportunities for interaction and social networking. This is because distance education operates through the Internet. This makes it unnecessary for professors and students who are in the same course to synchronize with others in the same time and space. It acts as a driving force for mobility of students, which causes confusion for classes and makes it hard for professors and administrators to supervise students. In addition, the students who attend online courses come from all walks of life, and their social rank, life experiences, attendance goals, learning styles, and cultural and educational backgrounds are all different. These things also increase the difficulty of management in the online education. On the other hand, in face-to-face education, teachers and administrators can monitor and manage students completely, making it possible to keep matters in good order. Students in online courses can, however, access knowledge and information much more easily. It makes students rely on the Internet, not only for personal uses but for work and study as well. As a result, students will sit in front of computers for hours each day and lack enough emotional communication. Today’s distance education neglects the factor of the emotions of students, and is not concerned with the emotional communication between teachers and students. More importantly, emotional education is a significant part of education, particularly in primary and secondary education. Teenagers form their values and moralities when they communicate with teachers or classmates in classes and schools. This is what distance education cannot achieve. As John Dewey (1944) said, Science and technology are not personality forces. They only act as intermediaries in education. No matter how powerful distance education is, if it ignores the  human emotions, it will lose the fundamental purpose of education. Therefore, distance education should never be a substitute for face-to-face education. Last but not least, in distance education, when teachers, students, and educational institutions use copyrighted materials, they cannot get the same treatment as people in physical classrooms. In other words, distance education will suffer many copyright infringement problems. According to the U.S. Copyright Law (1976), Section 110 (2), distance education has three weaknesses. The first is that the law has limited the types of copyrighted materials it recognizes in distance education: only non-dramatic works, articles and music are allowed to be shown in distance classes. Also, in the process of distance education, teachers, students and education institutions easily land in copyright infringement problems. Business With the development of technology, communication equipment is constantly emerging, such as email, the cell phone, text messaging, etc. In business communication, email is the most common method all in use over the world. It has three main advantages: it makes business information more accessible; and it provides for swifter communication in business activities; it breaks the constraints of time and space for business people to make contact with business partners. According to an investigation by the Direct Marketing Association in 2009, if an American business person invests $1 in commercial email, he would get $43.61 in return in one year. It seems that sending e-mails is a best way in business communication. However, the prospects for commercial email have not been good recently. When people receive hundreds of junk emails each week, the high rate of investment return will no longer exist. According to an investigation by FOB Business Forum, subscribers’ inboxes are full of needless emails currently, and 60% of subscribers choose to ignore all emails, this dashes to pieces business people’s hope for electronically establishing relationships with clients. On the contrary, in face-to-face communication, there is not much guesswork involved. Therefore, business people can set the foundation for trust with customers swiftly, and lasting business relationships easily. Video conferencing is also a popular commercial communications media in the 21st century. It is almost like the face-to-face meeting and non-verbal communication is also possible in video  conferencing. In fact, Dr. Albert Mehrabian, author of Silent Messages, said that over 90% of human communication is through nonverbal language like postures, gestures, eye contact and facial expressions. Video conferencing allows people to observe others’ appearances, movements and facial expressions in the same conferencing. What is more, people can show any material object, drawing and document they want. It enables businessmen to maximize the effectiveness of their negotiations. On the other hand, the success of video conferencing proves that face-to-face communication in business is still more effective than other types of communication. However, establishing video a conferencing network requires a great deal of funds, and the cost of maintaining and repairing the video equipment is also very high. It seems that video conferencing is not appropriate for all companies or organizations if face-to-face communication is still feasible. Email and video conferencing are not substitutes for face-to-face contact at all. As the economists Jess Gaspar and Ed Glaeser (2007) have pointed out, they are complements to face-to-face communication. Daily life In today’s world, a variety of communication equipments are packed into our life and electronic communication is better and cheaper than it is ever been. However, abusing communication equipments make people lacks emotional communication and provides poor opportunities for social networking. For example, in workplace, personal face-to-face communications can help people build relationship with their colleagues. The complexities of interpersonal relations cannot be interpreted by an e-mail, and a quick e-mail is absolutely not enough to maintain close association between two people. What is more, face-to-face communication is the key point in teamwork. According to an investigation by Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2006), people who worked together and communicate with colleagues face-to-face did a better team job than another team who only use intercom to communicate with each colleague. Conclusion We live in the 21st century, an era of advanced science and technology, in which we have a great variety of communication equipment, such as cell phones, faxes, Internet, etc. These things bring a lot of benefits for all aspects of people’s lives. However, other types of communication can never  be a complete substitute for face-to-face communication. In business, education or daily life, face-to-face communication is the best method to communicate with others. References Browning, Dominique (Dec 4, 2011). Talking Face to Face Is So Yesterday. New York Times (Dec 4, 2011), p. SR.5. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com Gopal, Namita (2009). Business Communication. New Age International, Daryaganj, Delhi, IND, 74-77. Harford, Tim. FT.com site: Undercover economist: Keep it real. FT.com (Jan 26, 2007), p. 1. Retrieved from http:// www.ft.comLoose, Cindy. Online Education to Be Free; N.Va. Billionaire Envisions Cyber-U. The Washington Post (Mar 15, 2000), p. A.01. Retrieved from http://ic.galegroup.com.libproxy.bridgeport.edu

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The idea of play therapy

The idea of play therapy We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing. -Charles Schaefer Play is the primary way that children learn about the world, understand how different things work, express their thoughts and feelings, develop their physical skills, develop their mental skills, and develop effective social skills and bonds. As children grow, their use of language becomes more sophisticated, but throughout childhood, they usually express much more of themselves in their play. We can understand children better if we understand their play. Rather than engaging in verbal communication, we often learn more about their thoughts, feelings, motivations, and struggles by watching children play. Children more effectively communicate their thoughts and feelings through play than they do through verbal communication. As the child plays, the therapist begins to recognize themes and patterns or ways of using the materials that are important to the child. Over time, the clinician helps the child begin to make meaning out of the play. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) defines play therapy as the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development (www.a4pt.org). Although the idea of play therapy was introduced over 80 years ago, this therapeutic approach has only begun to experience major growth and development within the last 20 years and is still considered to be relatively new in modern therapy practices. Within the past 10 years, play therapy has become more recognized as an effective intervention to reduce challenging behaviors associated with social, emotional, behavioral, and learning difficulties in adults, children and adolescents. While researching this approach, I found it increasingly difficult to find information relative to the proven clinical practice of play therapy as most of the information pertainin g to play therapy still focuses widely on reliability and studies to prove that it is even an effective practice. Because play is so familiar to children, it is a zone of comfort that permits counselors to approach clients in a nonthreatening environment. When children play, they feel safe. They dont respond to simply talking and listening to an adult conversation. Play Therapists use play to help children express feelings about many issues. Children can use play to address feelings about loss and divorce. Children who have been victims of abuse or have experienced a trauma can also benefit. Even a child who is having trouble with peer relations or conduct in school can benefit from play. Children often express their feelings behaviorally and this can be misdiagnosed as ADD/ADHD resulting in these children being medicated unnecessarily. Effects of trauma, loss, and divorce can mimic the symptoms of ADD/ADHD. Instead of using medication as the first option of treatment, children and their therapists can utilize play therapy to work on those feelings. The main goal of play therapy is to eliminate behavioral and emotional difficulties that prohibit a child to function normally, especially in regards to improved communication and understanding between the child and his parents, family, and peers. By using play therapy techniques, the therapist can allow a child or adult to become more aware of their emotions and eliminate any negative behavior that may be a direct result of their emotional and behavioral difficulties. Less obvious goals of play therapy include improved verbal expression, ability for self-observation, improved impulse control, more adaptive ways of coping with anxiety and frustration, and improved capacity to trust and to relate to others. Although play therapy has been proven to be effective for children with various kinds of disorders, it is not as helpful for certain types disorders or illnesses, such as children with the most severe degree of autism and schizophrenia (Landreth, 2002). These two types of children live so exclusively in their own world that t hey cut off interaction with the outside world completely. Because they lack the ability and/or willingness to interact with people and objects, I believe that play therapy might not be the best therapeutic approach for these children. Play Therapy involves the use of role playing, toys, blocks, dolls, puppets, and games to help the child recognize, identify, and verbalize feelings and to communicate what has happened to them and how they feel about these events in their lives. Often, a child will allow a doll or puppet to say things that the child does not feel they are free to tell to anyone. Skilled therapists also use drawing and art work to allow feelings to flow and become expressed. The therapist observes how the child uses play materials and identifies themes or patterns to understand the childs problems. Play therapy is particularly effective with children who cannot, or do not want to talk about their problems. Through a combination of talk and play the child has an opportunity to better understand and manage their conflicts, feelings, and behavior. Sand play therapy is one form of play therapy which allows greater exploration of deep emotional issues. Sand play therapy is suitable for children and adults and allows them to reach a deeper insight and reconciliation of a range of issues in their lives such as internal conflicts that manifest as anxiety and depression, as well as penetrating the depths of personality to experience the self directly. Through a safe and supportive process, clients place miniature figurines in a small sand box to express confusing feelings and inner experiences. This creates a visual representation of the unconscious and reveals concerns that are inaccessible any other way. As materials contained in the unconscious emerge visually and symbolically, it is integrated into a persons sense of self and can be activated to elicit behavioral change. Sand play therapy is an expressive and creative way of working which does not rely on traditional talk therapy. Two major approaches of play therapy are Non-directive (Child-Centered) play therapy and Directive (Cognitive Behavioral Model) play therapy. A skilled practitioner will adopt a mix of both approaches according to each individual child and their circumstances. In non-directive play therapy, the therapist remains supportive, but non-intrusive, and responsibility and direction are left to the child, which emphasizes empowering the client, self-awareness, decision-making, and acceptance of the clients self. In directive play therapy, the therapist aquires responsibility for guidance and interpretation of the therapy by taking an active role in the play and structuring the session for assessment, diagnostic, and treatment purposes. One key concern of non-directive techniques is that young children may not necessarily have the cognitive skills and emotional capacity to repair and master traumatic experiences on their own. Upon researching the information that I found on the different ways to apply play therapy to therapeutic sessions, I personally found directive play therapy to be the most efficient. I like the idea of having more control over sessions and getting the information I need to successfully identify problems and issues for the child. Though both practices use similar ways of play and creative expression for the child, in my opinion directive therapy seems to be the best approach for my own personal counseling style. One issue that comes up most often in regards to the boundaries of play therapy is hugging and/or physical contact. In any therapeutic relationship, it is important for the client to realize that the therapist cares. Therapists accomplish this in traditional talk therapy by attentive listening, reflecting, and empathy with little to no touch involved. This can be quite different when working with children in a play setting. Children can be naturally very impulsive, and may hug the therapist in response to a positive or negative feeling. It is important for the therapist to be aware that hugging and touch are used in many different types of relationships and have a variety of meaning. An ethical response to this issue is to abstain from hugging all clients, especially child clients (McGuire McGuire, 2001). On the other hand, if a therapist is hugged by a child, remaining stiff may send a negative message to the client (Landreth, 1999). Although I found the literature on ethical issue s in play therapy to be lacking, the information I did find was illuminating. It certainly caused me to think more in-depth about the many ethical situations that are specific to working with children and to play therapy. This means being aware of potential ethical issues before they arise and planning in advance on how I would react to those situations. I liked the direction that the literature appears to be heading, which is providing play therapists with more effective and universal guidelines for ethical problem solving. The practice of play therapy requires extensive specialized education, training, and experience. A play therapist is a licensed (or certified) mental health professional who has earned a Masters or Doctorate degree in a mental health field with considerable general clinical experience and supervision (www.a4pt.org). Unfortunately, according Dr. Garry Landreth, who is one of the major key contributors to the field of play therapy, many therapists practicing play therapy do not have the specialized training needed with less than half of the therapists currently practicing play therapy having taken a graduate course in the field. Children are a special client population, and simply having a degree in counseling or another similar field does not qualify a person to provide therapy for them (Corey, Corey, Callanan, 2007). When Dr. Landreth (2001) outlined what play therapy can do for children he also told us what areas of development are often a struggle for children and adults alike. Children start their lives with an amazing skill to play that far too often gets lost in the confusion of the adult world. Many adults still cannot claim responsibility for their actions or to accept themselves for who they are as people. Play, whether with games, puppets, drums, clay, sports, motion, drawing, drama, dolls, sand, or whatever else is available, invites a cascade of positive effects. There are endless possibilities for the use of play therapy with adults (Schaefer, 2003). Play therapy for adults can also allow the bonding with others to form healthy relationships for people who may have experience only with serious dysfunctional interactions. When adults enter into play therapy, they are able to gain access to their inner child. Very often, emotional repression and unhealthy feelings are formed in childhoo d and adults learn to ignore surface exhibition of these emotional traumas. However, with adult play therapy the person has the space to realize and act out those feelings and they can reach a resolution and closure, allowing them to become happier, healthier people. In the limited amount of research that I found on the topic of play therapy, it seems as though there is a lack of consistency among the definitions and its implementation. Some articles and texts clearly defined play therapy; others seemed to distort a traditional definition to fit their purpose. I honestly do not know if there truly is a pure form or definition of play therapy. I did however, through my research, find that the various techniques of play therapy used seemed to be quite effective at helping children to deal with a wide array of issues. In conclusion, I believe that play therapy is a fun, innovative, valid, and effective means of helping clients to express feelings that they have unconsciously repressed or avoided. It can be a very healthy outlet and can be useful at times when traditional talk therapy simply doesnt work. Dr. Landreth (2002) states that play is a childs language and toys are his/her words.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Study of cognitive linguistics

Study of cognitive linguistics Before we go to cognitive linguistics, we should answer some questions, which are very important to those who make a study of linguistics. Everybody knows that there are many rules in language. à ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ «, for example, is used to show our warmth to people: à ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ «Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¿Ã¢â‚¬ º, à ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ «Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ ·Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã‚ , à ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ «Ãƒ ¥- Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ °Ã‚ ´, à ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ «Ãƒ ¥- Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ ¨Ã…’ ¶, à ¥Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ «Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã†â€™Ãƒ ¤Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ªÃƒ ¨Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ ¦Ã… ¾Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ However, à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢is used to indicate goodbye: à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ µÃ‚ °, à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ Ã†â€™, à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¥- , à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¨Ã‚ Ã…  , à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¥Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¾(Cantonese), à ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ ¥Ã… ½Ã¢â‚¬ ¹(Cantonese, said to someone who goes cycling), etc. Because these rules in Chinese do not exist in English, we cannot say *Come in quickly, *Sit down quickly, or *Walk s lowly. Rules like this are concerned with use of words. At the same time, there are rules in grammar. In English, for example, I is followed by am, and you by are, and he by is. 1) Are such rules in language formed gradually through everyday use or prescribed by linguists? (It is very important for us to answer such questions correctly before we are engaged in making a study of linguistics.) 2) All language users can speak their mother tongue correctly, fluently and appropriately. An illiterate woman in Guangzhou, for example, can speak Cantonese correctly, fluently and appropriately. Do you think she knows Cantonese grammar? 3) Some people, even some university teachers say that many great scholars have made a lot of research and published many books on linguistics and grammar. These people think that the famous scholars have solved all language problems and theres nothing left for us to make a study. Whats your opinion about this? 4) Language is always changing. It is one of the properties of language. Do you think it is possible to avoid its change or it is necessary to do so? 5) There are many linguistic schools studying language in the world. Can you explain why there are so many schools? (Cognitive linguistics is one of the so many schools. I dont know if you are interested in it or not. For me, I firmly believe it and also interested in it, because it can explain many phenomena in language. The explanations from the perspective of cognitive linguistics help us know about how language is formed and why it is formed in this way instead of the other way. Most importantly, such explanations can help both teachers teach foreign languages and learners learn them effectively.) 6) Where is meaning? In order to understand these sentences we must call upon our knowledge about the world, which does not reside in the sentences or in any of the words of the sentences. (Scollon Scollon 2000: 7) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦we tend to look for meaning in words themselves, but we are incorrect if we think that words possess meaning. It is more accurate to say that people possess meaning and that words elicit these meanings. (Samovar et al 2000: 123) Language does not itself do the cognitive building-it just give us minimal, but sufficient, clues for finding the domains and principles appropriate for building in a given situation. Once these clues are combined with already existing configurations, available cognitive principles, and background framing, the appropriate construction can take place, and the result far exceeds any overt explicit information. This fundamental property of language is counterintuitive: In our folk theory, it is the words that carry the meaning: We say what we mean, we put meaning into words, and so on. The difference between the folk-theoretic conception and the actual (backstage) reality goes unnoticed for very interesting reasons. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We notice only the tip of the iceberg-the words-and we attribute all the rest to common sense. (Fauconnier 1994: xviii) Language does not carry meaning, it guides it. As Mark Turner felicitously put it: Expressions do not mean; they are prompts for us to construct meanings by working with processes we already know. In no sense is the meaning of (an) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ utterance right there in the words. When we understand an utterance, we in no sense are understanding just what the words say; the words themselves say nothing independent of the richly detailed knowledge and powerful cognitive processes we bring to bear (Turner 1991: 206) Language, as we use it, is but the tip of the iceberg of cognitive construction. As discourse unfolds, much is going on behind the scenes: New domains appear, links are forged, abstract mappings operate, internal structure emerges and spreads, viewpoint and focus keep shifting. Everyday talk and commonsense reasoning are supported by invisible, highly (p. xxii) abstract, mental creations, which grammar helps to guide, but does not by itself define. (Fauconnier 1994: xxiii) On this view, words do not really have meanings, nor do sentences have meanings: meanings are something that we construe, using the properties of linguistic elements as partial clues, alongside non-linguistic knowledge, information available from context, knowledge and conjectures regarding the state of mind of hearers and so on. (Croft Cruse 2004: 98) The core idea in Cognitive Linguistics is that meanings are mental entities in conceptual space. Meanings are in peoples minds. They are not independent entities in the external world, as is the case in objectivist models. The external world is only indirectly relevant in that meanings are constrained by how human beings perceive of the world. The second question concerns the relation between lexical items and meaning. Lexical items map on to concepts, and meaning is the relation between the lexical item and the domain matrix that it activates. Lexical meaning is constrained by encyclopaedic knowledge, conventionalized mappings between lexical items and concepts, conventional modes of thought in different contexts and situational frames. (à ¥Ã… ½Ã… ¸Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ³Ã‚ ¨Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¡In cognitive approaches to meaning, all linguistic expressions are profiled according to a base (Langacker 1987a), or a frame (Fillmore (1982), an idealized cognitive model of a situation (Lakoff 1987) or a cycle of contextualization and decontextualization of word meaning based on linguistic and encyclopaedic knowledge (Warren 1999). All these constructs represent presupposed information in an expression that the speaker infers in situations. In my model the appropriate construal is employed on the basis of such knowledge. See also Croft (forthcoming) for a similar approach to verbs.) Meanings are thus not inherent in the lexical items as such, but they are evoked by lexical items. Moreover, there is no purely linguistic level of representation that is intermediate between concepts and lexical items, and there is no static one-to-one relationship between lexical items and meanings. (à ¥Ã… ½Ã… ¸Ãƒ ¦Ã‚ ³Ã‚ ¨Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¡This is the case in approaches to meaning that assume a lexicon consisting of formal features, e.g. Bierwich Schreuder (1992), Levelt (1989), Pustejovsky (1998), Borschev Partee (2001), Jackendoff (2002).) Multiple readings are natural and expected in a dynamic usage-based model. The components of the framework are shown in Figure 1. The third question concerns the dynamics of language in terms of synchronic flexibility and diachronic change. Different readings in different contexts emerge from the intention that activates the expression or the wish to interpret the expression in a relevant way in order to obtain socially viable (capable of working, functioning, or developing adequately; capable of existence and development as an independent unit) mappings between words and concepts. In other words, cognitive processes (construals) operate on the conceptual structures on all occasions of use. These operations are the source of all readings, conventional as well as ad hoc (used for specific or immediate needs) contextual readings, and possible lexical change takes place through new conventional, entrenched links between linguistic expressions and conceptual structures (Paradis 2003b). (Paradis, 2004: 53) The precise semantic contribution of any word is a function of the utterance context in which it is embedded, and, moreover, the sorts of (conceptual) knowledge these lexical entities provide access to. In other words, words dont have meanings in and of themselves. Rather meaning is a function of the utterance in which a word is embedded, and the complex processes of lexical concept integration. (Evans, 2006:492) More recently, a number of scholars have suggested that in fact word-meaning is less a discrete body of circumscribed knowledge. Rather, words serve as points of access to larger-scale encyclopaedic knowledge structures, which are potentially vast in scope as argued in detail below. On this view, words provide access to what I will refer to as a semantic potential, with different sorts of knowledge being potentially activated. (Evans, 2006: 493) One way of thinking about the meaning of words is to see them as tools for causing speakers to access specific parts of their knowledge base (Moore Carling 1982:11, quoted in Lee, 2001:5). At any given moment, individuals have a huge store of knowledge available to them (Lee, 2001:5). Meaning is not a property of utterances but a product of the interaction between an utterance and a human beings knowledge base (Lee, 2001:12). The function of the noun cat in the utterance The cat wants something to eat is to cause the addressee to home in on (meaning to find) a very specific region of that knowledge base-specifically on those neural structures that constitute her store of knowledge concerning cats in general and the family cat in particular. (Lee, 2001:5) Meaning in language can be summarized as: 1) To understand words or sentences is to call upon the knowledge about the world. 2) The knowledge does not reside in the sentences or in any of the words of the sentences. That is, words do not possess meaning. 3) People possess meaning and words as tools elicit meanings. 2. What is cognitive linguistics? 2.1 The importance of cognitive linguistics Cognitive linguistics is expected to be one of the most important approaches in the field of linguistics in the 21 century. Some linguists even say that the 21 century will belong to cognitive linguistics. Cognitive linguistics originated from America in 1970s the last century. Many linguists in China have turned to cognitive linguistics. Papers about cognitive linguistics, papers introducing cognitive linguistics and papers analyzing language structures with cognitive approaches can be found in almost every academic journal or magazine related to language study in China in recent years. If we pay little attention to this approach, we are sure to lag behind. That is why we offer you the course of cognitive linguistics. 2.2 The definition of cognitive linguistics As you know, each linguistic school has its own attitudes towards language and its own approach to language. So does cognitive linguistics. According to this textbook, cognitive linguistics is an approach to language that is based on our experience of the world and the way we perceive and conceptualize our experience of the world (p.F36). (Who would like to explain conceptualize our experience? When we say conceptualize our experience, we mean that we have the idea for our experience or that we form concepts of our experience.) 2.3 The objective of cognitive linguistics The objective of cognitive linguistics is to investigate and to study cognitive or mental structure and organization by analyzing cognitive strategies used by humans in thinking, storing information, comprehending, and producing language. (Bussmann, Hadumod. 2000. Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. p.80. Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press Routledge) 2.4 Two different meanings of the term cognitive linguistics It is very important to notice that cognitive linguistics has two different meanings, which come from the word cognitive. It has the following two meanings: 1) cognitive related to knowledge (This is the logical view. This view accepts logical rules and objective definitions.) 2) cognitive related to human experience based on practical and empirical knowledge.(This is the cognitive linguistics we mean. Such cognitive linguistics includes three views or approaches: the experiential view, the prominence view and the attentional view.) 3. Experiential view: Different explanations of Our car has broken down 3.1 Traditional explanation Traditionally, most teachers use the following methods in class: 1) paraphrasing the meanings of words 2) analyzing the clause pattern 3) discussing the use of the present perfect tense How do you help your students with this sentence? Talk about your teaching, please? If someone does not know the word car, the teacher just tells him that it means 4-wheeled motor vehicle. Usually the teacher takes into consideration the so-called difficult points. In this sentence, the difficult point may be the phrasal verb break down, which has at least as many as 35 meanings according to a dictionary. The first four meanings are: 1) to become separated into pieces or fragments 2) to become cracked or split 3) to give way; collapse 4) to become unusable or inoperative/stop operating or functioning e.g. The television broke down. The 4th meaning is suitable to explain the phrasal verb break down, so the teacher chooses stop operating or functioning to replace the original phrase, such as Our car has stopped operating or Our car has stopped functioning. 3.2 Explanation with the logical view (of modern linguistics) In the logical view, some objective semantic features must be found. The following are a set of objective semantic features of car: 1) inanimate 2) concrete 3) movable 4) self-propelled The meaning of car in this explanation equates objective features. This explanation seems to be cognitive, because it is related to knowledge. But it is not the cognitive linguistics we are studying. The cognitive linguistics we mean is not based on logical knowledge, but on practical and empirical knowledge. The logical view cannot explain the phrasal verb break down, because the phrase is used as a metaphor, which is excluded from the study of the logical view. 3.3 Explanation with the experiential view 1) Meaning is in our experience. a. attribute Before we explain this sentences with the experiential view, we must first pay special attention to the term attribute, which is frequently used in cognitive linguistics so it is a very important term in cognitive linguistics, especially when we explain language with the experiential view. Simply to say, attribute is characteristic of an entity (Word Web) What are the attributes of car? The answer is on P. F37, where you can see that the concept car has 9 attributes in all. Both our communal experience and personal or subjective experience are related to the word car. Of the 9 attributes, some are shared by most peoples experience and some others are very personal and subjective. The attributes of first love affair and injury are very personal and subjective. The meaning of car in this explanation is communal experience + personal (subjective) experience. These two types of experience equate attributes in all. b. Two important aspects of attributes a) Attributes are from laypersons We should notice that such attributes are collected from laypersons (common people/ persons who are not trained in linguistics) instead of dictionaries or scholars. So to a great extent, these attributes can reflect the way every language user perceives the world and interacts with it. b) Attributes help identify similar objects To every word dictionaries give definitions which are sometimes not helpful. The word car, for example, is defined as 4-wheeled motor vehicle. This definition cannot help people identify a 3-wheeled motor vehicle when they see such a vehicle for the first time. But it is obvious that attributes from laypersons can do that. People can identify it as a car because it agrees with some of the attributes. That is why the experiential view is superior to the logical view. 2) Meaning in figurative language. The original meaning for break down is fall apart, collapse. When it is used to express the event that the car suddenly stops working, it is a metaphorical use because the car does not become separated into pieces or fragments. Metaphor is no longer regarded as just a rhetorical device. In logical view, metaphor is excluded from the study of linguistics. But the fact is that metaphor is frequently used by everyone in their utterances every day. It goes without saying that heart as in Beijing is the heart of China is a metaphor. So is the eye of heaven in Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare. Everybody can identify this kind of metaphor. But metaphor in cognitive linguistics is in a much broader sense. The following are also examples of metaphor: (1) You appear at the head of the list. (2) the leg of a table (3) He got into trouble yesterday. In literature, get into trouble is no metaphor at all, but in cognitive linguistics it is because trouble is regarded as a container. Actually, people tend to make use of metaphor. In a metaphorical way it is easier to express abstract ideas or unfamiliar things. So concrete concepts are used to express abstract concepts and familiar things are used to indicate unfamiliar things. We can say, metaphor is pervasive in language, that is to say, figurative language is everywhere in language. If a linguistic theory pays no attention to metaphor or figurative language, such a theory can be said not to be immature. A good linguistic theory should explain every phenomenon in language. Cognitive linguistics is such a linguistic theory which makes a study of every aspect of meanings in language. 4. Prominence view The prominence view concerns the selection and arrangement of the information that is expressed. It is actually an explanation of how the information in a clause is selected and arranged. Compare the following pairs of examples: (4) a. The garden is swarming with bees. b. Bees are swarming in the garden. In traditional grammar, the two sentences are regarded as the same in meaning. But in fact they do not mean the same because prominence in the sentences are different. (4a) means that there are bees everywhere in the garden, but (4b) means that there are bees in part of the garden. 5. Attentional view The attentional view is an approach based on the assumption that what we actually express reflects which parts of an event attract our attention (p. F39). That is, an utterance reflects what is paid attention to. In language the same event can be expressed in different ways because of our different attentions. Take learn and teach for example: (5) a. Xiao Li learned English from Mr. Smith. b. Mr. Smith taught Xiao Li English. When the speakers attention is on Xiao Li, he uses the first sentence, but when his attention is on Mr. Smith, he uses the second one. In paraphrase, we usually tell the students that the two sentences are in the same meaning, but in the attentional view, their meanings are in fact different. 6. The contents of this book 1) This book contains six chapters, with Chapters 1, 2, 3 introducing the experiential view, Chapter 4 dealing with the prominence view, Chapter 5 discussing the attentional view and Chapter 6 briefing iconicity, grammaticalization, lexical change and language teaching. 2) This book talks chiefly about the three views of cognitive linguistics. It is important for you to make clear the three views first, because they are initiated by cognitive linguistics and therefore they are basic theories of cognitive linguistics. And then you should also go on to study iconicity, grammaticalization, lexical change and language teaching. Though iconicity and grammaticalization are not initiated by cognitive linguistics, many scholars are working at them because the two approaches can also explain many language problems. The last section of this book also talks about foreign language learning and teaching. For us, this section may be helpful. But until now, few people have discussed this topic, so what is presented in the last section of this book is just the potential of cognitive approach to foreign language teaching. We can benefit from the discussion about foreign language learning and teaching in this book so as to begin with our own researches of English teaching and learning. Exercises: What is cognitive linguistics? Whats the difference between the logical view and the experiential view? How do you understand the term attribute in cognitive linguistics? Talk about attributes of bicycle.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Comparitive Essay On Ladies Shoes :: essays research papers

Shoes have always been something that women want to go shopping for. Over the latter part of this century, it has become more likely for women to buy many shoes because of the growing diversity of shoe fashion. Shoe manufacturers have taken advantage of this growing diversity to create as many types of shoes as they can. Ladies shoes can be classified into three categories: cheap shoes, moderately priced shoes, and expensive shoes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first types of ladies shoes are the cheap shoes. First, cheap shoes usually cost anywhere from twenty-five dollars to around sixty dollars. They are often on sale because of large quantities stocked by department stores. These shoes are often sold out during sales because their prices are marked down considerably to make room for the next shipment of cheap shoes. Secondly, cheap shoes are low quality. Cheap shoes have very bad workmanship, for example: they are easily ripped or torn, the soles often are not glued properly to the shoes, and each pair of shoes is a slightly different size. When cheaper shoes are manufactured the companies use very cheap material such as: low grade plastic, foam, imitation leather, and coarsely woven fabric. Cheap shoes are generally not very comfortable at all. Next, cheap shoes come in styles to appease to the economical customer. These customers are generally the very young and the very old, or those who cannot afford shoes th at are more expensive. The most common styles for cheap shoes are the slippers and the very low-heeled shoes for old women, and the high platforms that appeal to younger women.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moderately priced shoes are the second types of shoes. Firstly, moderately priced shoes can cost anywhere from sixty dollars to ninety-five dollars. They go on sale from time to time. They go on sale because the manufacturer has stopped producing that particular style of shoes, and the few sizes that are left in the store need to be sold in order to make room for the next line of moderately priced shoes. In addition, the quality of moderately priced shoes is generally far better than that of cheap shoes. The workmanship of moderately priced shoes is fairly good, for example: less manufacturing defects, better craftsmanship on glued parts, and the shoes are more structurally sound than cheap shoes. Moderately priced shoes use higher quality materials in their shoes, such as leather for the upper portions of the shoes.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Ogden Nash: An Amazing Poet Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ogden Nash was a poet that used nonsensical and humorous verse to draw people into reading his poems. Then, he would slip in insightful poems that speak a lot about life. His light verse even earned him a place on a postage stamp. His poems contain uneven lines that all rhyme, and he even made up spellings to words to achieve the best effect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frederick Ogden Nash was born August 19, 1902, in New York. His family thought that education was very important, and this was the basis for his love of languages and writing. At the age of seven, he got an eye infection, so he had to stay in a darkened room for almost a year. During this time, his mother schooled him, and this helped him develop his incredible memory. By the tender age of 10, he was already writing the humorous poetry that he became famous for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He went to Harvard briefly, but his family didn’t have much money, so he had to quit and get a job. His first job was as a high school teacher, then as a bond salesman, then as an advertising copy-writer, then as an editor, and finally as a writer for the â€Å"New Yorker.† He published many of his poems in books, but he also made sure to do lecturing, even though he hated it. The lecturing ensured that he would make enough money to support his family. He died May 19, 1971, in Baltimore, Maryland. His tombstone says that he was a master of light verse. Archibald MacLeish contests that, saying that his poetry is so much more than that. Sure, some of his poems are lig...

Chinese Economic Reform :: essays papers

Chinese Economic Reform Two years after the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, it became apparent to many of China's leaders that economic reform was necessary. During his tenure as China's premier, Mao had encouraged social movements such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, which had had as their base ideologies such as serving the people and maintaining the class struggle. By 1978 "Chinese leaders were searching for a solution to serious economic problems produced by Hua Guofeng, the man who had succeeded Mao Zedong as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader after Mao's death" (Shirk 35). Hua had demonstrated a desire to continue the ideologically based movements of Mao. Unfortunately, these movements had left China in a state where "agriculture was stagnant, industrial production was low, and the people's living standards had not increased in twenty years" (Nathan, Andrew J. China's Crisis pg. 200). This last area was particularly troubling. While "the gross output value of industry and agr iculture increased by 810 percent and national income grew by 420 percent between 1952 and 1980; average individual income increased by only 100 percent" (Ma Hong quoted in Shirk, Susan L. "The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China." Berkeley pg. 28). However, attempts at economic reform in China were introduced not only due to some kind of generosity on the part of the Chinese Communist Party to increase the populace's living standards. It had become clear to members of the CCP that economic reform would fulfill a political purpose as well since the party felt, properly it would seem that it had suffered a loss of support. As Susan L. Shirk describes the situation in The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China, restoring the CCP's prestige required improving economic performance and raising living standards. The traumatic experience of the Cultural Revolution had eroded popular trust in the moral and political virtue of the CCP. The party's leaders decided to shift the base of party legitimacy from virtue to competence, and to do that they had to demonstrate that they could deliver the goods. This movement "from virtue to competence" seemed to mark a serious departure from orthodox Chinese political theory. Confucius himself had posited in the fifth century BCE that those individuals who best demonstrated what he referred to as moral force should lead the nation.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Popular Girls Essay

â€Å"Popular girls† is a short story from 2001 by Karen Shephard. She is born and raised in New York and her work has been published in several papers. The short-story sets in the early 80’s where we get some insight in the life of five rich and popular girls. They are self-centered and don’t have the slightest interest in other people. Their entire life is about maintaining their image as a group. The setting is New York, which is the riches city in the US. The city is also known as The big Apple and The city that never sleeps. This reflects in the mentality of these girls. They do speed, and not weed, because they want to get through school as fast as possible. They want to live life in the fast-lane and do extravagant things. Every paragraph of the text concerns some aspect of their life described in details. Every little thing about their life is mentioned. Their life and how they live it, is basically written as some kind of guidebook to popularity. A very important part of this popularity is the labels and the famous places of New York. This just underlines the superficiality of these girls’ lives. Throughout the entire text, the narrator addresses the reader. The narrator seems to be a †us† and a †we†. Somehow it is someone within the group of girls narrating or the entire group as one single unit addressing the reader. By saying things like †You know who we are†(p.1 l.1) and †You can’t get enough of us† makes it very clear, that they are aware of their status. It can also be a way of reaching out to the reader and making the reader remember how school was in the 80’s. Many people could have certain girls in their mind when reading this short story. Even from the very first sentence. The attitude of the text is a bit provoking. The first sentence is also a good example of this. By continuously addressing the reader, it keeps on having the effect of them being superior to not just other people, but you. As if you were actually there at the time. It is very clear that the narrator is focused on the †us† an d †you† and †them†. The popular girls against the rest of the world. You can’t be a part of their clique, but you can be a †friend† of the clique. This can be seen physically by their moat of backpack’s (p.1 l.22).Their other friends can sit on the other side of their moat, but cannot be let in. These girls only focus on their appearance  and of how other people perceive them. They don’t exactly worry about these things, but it constitutes their entire life. Where they go, where they sit, how they sit, it has to be the right way. They are not interested in other people and neither are they in each other,†You’re crying† we say, pointing.†(p.7 l.169) as if this is just a mere fact and they how no idea of how to act upon this. They only like the idea of themselves as a group of perfect friends, which is exactly what they are doing by saying †It’s a performance of us, the group of us† (p.6 l.147) and †Look at you, we are sa ying. Look at you. We are happy together, part of something and not alone, and we celebrate that out loud.†(p.149-151) their entire life is a performance of themselves and the performance of the fact that they are not alone. Perhaps they do feel alone in a life of rich parents that bring back dolls and pearls from business trips for their collection. There is a conflation of identities between these girls as they don’t work as individuals, but just as a group. This is made clear on page 2 line 58. †We walk in the formation of migrating geese.† Here the author uses humor/irony to emphasize the slight silliness of the group when comparing them to poultry. They are basically a herd of animals dependent of each other. Even though they define themselves as a group, Stephanie seems to be the leader, as she is described as a slightly more individual person: †We’re Kaethe and Alina, CJ and Sydney. Stephanie.†(p.1, l.1) here she is singled out as their frontline figur e. Stephanie is the tallest and also in the center of their †geese-formation†. She also dictates the idea of wearing these special rings, which they all obey. The girls have this special bond that consists of a strong †friendship†, but probably because they can’t see a way out. Without the rest of the pack, they would feel hopeless. None of them dares to leave anyone behind. The ending is a picture of their †friendship† whilst they perform as a group, they also make a performance for each other. No one knows them, not even their family and not even their own clique. They put on a performance of their popularity, even for their friends. Somehow, without words, they push each other to do things that are considered â€Å"cool†. But none of them knows when to stop. â€Å"Whatever happens will be performed in front of the group. We ask ourselves weather we can actually do this; (†¦)We are uneasy. Nothing about this whole thing will be graceful. No one is leaving†(p.8 l.198-201) none of the girls wants to be the one  chickening-out, no one want’s to be the one leaving the rest behind. Leaving now would be a kind of betrayal or a sign of weakness. Their obsession of being popular and someone important is a postmodern theme, also seen in: †Not yet, Jayette† by William Boyd from 1981. Although he does not reach this purpose, he has the same goals and views of life as these popular girls. None of them will ever feel complete, with or without these materialistic things.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Equal Opportunity for Financial Aid

Most post secondary institutions consider themselves to be equal opportunity establishments, although their financial aid system does not always seem to agree. In leaving my native country for university I have personally gone through the difficulties of trying to get financial aid. If you are an international student your only hopes of obtaining any aid are based on your athletic ability or your SAT scores. If we chose to come to America to get a university education, we should be treated as equals and allowed to apply for all the same financial aid that the American students do. It is every student-athletes dream to come to an American university. Athletes from around the world try to obtain athletic scholarships in hopes of getting the training and recognition to be able to go professional. Unfortunately not every athlete is able to obtain a full athletic scholarship, leaving the student to come up with the remainder. Not that we all deserve full scholarships, but in order to qualify for an I-20 student visa you must show proof of having 15,000 American dollars at your dispense. Once that amount is converted to Malaysian funds that amount is nearly $60,000, significantly more than ny American student needs proof of. The Malaysian government does not agree with giving of athletic scholarships, therefore they withhold any funding for student-athletes to leave to study in the United States. There is one source of financial aid for post secondary students from Malaysia, For students studying internationally, called the Malaysia Student Assistance Program. This is a near impossible student loan to obtain, it is available to students who's parents either make enough money to send them anywhere they want to go, or for students who could ot afford to go to university in Malaysia, therefore needing the athletic scholarships only offered in the United States. Being from a middle class family I, like many other Malaysian student-athletes could not qualify for this loan because of my working class The other option for international students to obtain financial aid from the institution of education would be from their SAT scores. The United States is the only country in which this standardized test is mandatory. In Malaysia the cost of taking this test is $100 American, which converts to approximately $ 400 Malaysian, the cost of aking this test restricts most people from taking it numerous times as we are prompted to do. I could only afford to take the test once, therefore limiting my academic scholarship American students also have to opportunity to hold employment while in university. International students according to the I-20 student visa are unable to hold employment. We are not given social security numbers or citizenship status, although the majority of us will end up acquiring a green card and living in the United States by the time that we are done our university educations. For the amount of money we are giving to the American economy one would think that they would be grateful and be willing to give back by helping to subsidize our education. We are forced into bank loans, and personal loans to pay for our education. The thought of living in debt for the rest of by life trying to pay back seven years of post-secondary education is absolutely terrifying. As well as the thought of only being nineteen years old an already being in debt, because I am unable to hold a job or obtain any sort of financial aid because I am not an American The Malaysian government has a right to withhold money from its citizens for leaving the country, as well as the American government has a right to only give to American citizens. I am just unsure as to why either country would want to with hold money from any student from any country. In a time where education is so important to the future why would either country want to hold its youth back. We would not be aiding or taking away from either economy by studying in another country. We aid the American economy by continuing our education here, and then we return to our country f origin where we pursue summer and winter employment, where we still pay taxes. We are not helping solely our economy of our country of origin, but we are helping a global economy by becoming aware of not just our country, but also other countries. We remain sheltered if we stay in one place all our lives, we need to explore and see the world, and we can start by going from our home country to another for post secondary education. The opportunity to study in another country does not come to everyone, but to those it does come to, it is a very difficult opportunity to pass up. If we are invited to this county to continue our education, why are we not treated as equals, both emotionally and financially. We, like the American students are just that, students. We do not come here because we do not want to study in our native countries, we come for the opportunity to experience new things, meet new people and become more educated, just like the American students. We do not come here to be judged or treated differently. We came to be treated like what we are, students, regardless of where we came from.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Poetry Analysis: Barbie Doll Poem

Society often saddles women with limiting and unrealistic expectations concerning beauty. This results in a sense of physical inadequacy and a low self-image for those women who do not uphold those features identified as aesthetically attractive. As the poem entitled â€Å"Barbie Doll,† by Marge Piercy shows through its word choice and tone, the results can often be devastating. There is a pointed and troubling contrast in the 2nd stanza, which describes a female subject of markedly admirable qualities.Indeed, it is almost implied that these qualities are somehow male in their nature. Her health, intelligence and strength are praised, as are her sex drive and physical abilities. We might therefore deduce that the subject being describes is an inherently attractive figure with qualities suitable for affection and mating. And yet, the resolution of this stanza is the juxtaposition which tells of a woman who is apologetic for those features divergent from female idealization.And were it simply a low self-esteem at the root of this apologetic nature, it might be deduced that the subject is also Piercy’s object of criticism. However, the 3rd stanza makes quite clear that the woman is at the mercy of that which is expected of her by others. Society’s pressures, implied by the sarcastic tone in the first stanza concerning female targeted toys which influence early the ideal role and identity of the woman, are reinforced in a more damning fashion by the 3rd stanza, which notes that ‘she was advised’ to craft herself according to how others expected her to be.Those unique and admirable qualities amounted to nothing as she was impressed upon to be thinner and more concurrent with the ideal of beauty. As Piercy tells, first she surrenders those qualities of her persona which made her appreciable and, consequently, she surrenders her life. She becomes the ‘Barbie Doll’ which invokes the standard image of beauty in our culture, as attractive, plastic and inanimate as a child’s play thing.

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Is Wal-Mart Good for America? Essay

This direct quote from Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton, was placed at the top of their website to nform its consumers of their general management philosophy. It is meant to instill a feeling of comfort that such an enormous multinational retailer still manages to hold on to its small town founder’s values. Provide people with the lowest possible prices on items that they need, whatever the cost. This slogan of always providing the lowest prices has made Wal-Mart the largest retailer on the planet and they generate billions of dollars in profit annually. But is Wal-Mart good for America? On the surface it would seem that providing a customer with an item at the lowest possible revailing question, one must more closely examine the mechanisms by which Wal- Mart is able to provide merchandise at such bargain basement prices. Providing people the lowest possible prices, whatever the cost. In this case, these low prices are being provided at the cost of the environment, Wal-Mart vendors, Wal-Mart employees, and even the American taxpayer. As the â€Å"Wal-Martization† of America is forcing businesses to outsource their Jobs oversees Just to stay solvent, it creates a problem here back home of people not being able to pay their bills and maintain adequate living standards. Is Wal-Mart creating the greatest good for the greatest number? Or are they Just creating the greatest good for their executives and investors? This reflection paper will attempt to analyze and answer these questions as we dive deep into the culture of Wal-Mart and its effect on society domestically, as well as globally. The two dominant points of view used to analyze corporations and their overall purpose could be summarized by the terms â€Å"stockholder† and â€Å"stakeholder† management. The former was championed by the well-known economist Milton Friedman. He believed that â€Å"a corporation’s primary and perhaps ole purpose is to maximize profits for stockholders†¦ † (Arnold, Beauchamp ; Bowie, 2013) Friedman would view Wal-Mart as a corporation that acts solely in the best interest of their stockholders. Wal-Mart is notorious for not paying their employees very high wages and not offering much to their employees in terms of retirement benefits and health care coverage. At least when compared to other successful competitors such as Costco, Wal-Mart clearly comes up short in this department. The latter point of view mentioned was made popular by Edward Freeman in his essay, â€Å"Managing for Stakeholders. In it he argues that â€Å"the primary responsibility of the executive is to create as much value for stakeholders as possible, and that no stakeholder interest is viable in isolation of the other stakeholders. (Freeman, 2007) When we speak of stakeholders, we are referring to the five basic groups that stand to gain or lose from corporations. These groups are customers, suppliers, employees, the local community and the stockholders. Freeman argues that no one stakeholder’s interest should be taken at the expense of the others and that all must be considered by a corporation when it comes to making the best decision. While the â€Å"Friedmanite† view has been seen as the classical dominant view on corporations and their purpose, the stakeholder view on management has been gaining speed over the last thirty years and cannot be underestimated or undervalued these days as companies struggle to stay competitive in a massive global economy. In terms of all stakeholders involved, both Friedman and Freeman would agree that Wal-Mart is acting in the best interest of their stockholders primarily. This benefit to the shareholders is at the expense of all the other stakeholders. The customers will suffer due to the lack of uality of items purchased. Wal-Mart outsources a great deal of their production to China to save on labor and production costs. As a result, the common saying â€Å"you get what you pay for† holds true. These items that Wal-Mart sells in their stores tend to be of inferior quality, and that â€Å"quality’ is passed on to the consumer. The employees suffer because they are not able to earn a decent wage to live on. According to an article written by Wayne Cascio, Decency Means More Than â€Å"Always Low Prices†: A Comparison of Costco to Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club, he indicates that â€Å"The age is hardly enough to live on these days with gas prices where they are and the average cost of living going up. I know I couldn’t live on 10 dollars per hour. These low wages actually end up costing the American tax payer in the forms government assistance programs such as Medicaid and food stamps. In a study conducted by the Institute for Labor and Employment at the University of California, Berkeley, â€Å"taxpayers subsidized $20. million for medical care for Wal-Mart employees in that state alone. † (Cascio, 2006) Suppliers suffer because they are forced to accept the ontracts that Wal-Mart offers them to provide their products in their stores that essentially eat up their profits. The local community suffers because when a new Wal-Mart is built, smaller stores struggl e to stay competitive due to the fact they cant keep up with the prices that Wal-Mart charges for their product. They do not have the ability to outsource production and so they eventually go out of business. While Friedman and Freeman would believe that Wal-Mart is primarily serving the interests of their stockholders while disregarding all other stakeholders, John Boatright would ffer an alternative hypothesis on the issue. In his article, what’s wrong-and what’s right-with stakeholder management, he argues that â€Å"†¦ a business organization in which managers act in the interest of the shareholders can also be one that, at the same time, benefits all stakeholder groups. † (Boatright, 2013) He goes on to provide his definition of what a firm is and what their purpose should be. Boatright defines a firm â€Å"†¦ s a nexus of contracts between a legal entity called a firm and its various constituencies, which include employees, customers, suppliers, investors, and other roups. † (Boatright, 2013) It is believed that by each group providing their own services in a Joint effort with a firm, that the greatest financial return will be achieved. From Boa tright’s point of view, he would view the business philosophy of Wal-Mart as one that does benefit all the stakeholders. Customers benefit by having more purchasing power. They can walk into a Wal-Mart and purchase more items than they could at any other retailer.