Pakistan

Pakistan was the rich and a developing country which had valuable natural resources in the past. Pakistan was known for its rich agriculture and human resources helped Pakistan to grow in every field. Through agriculture, Pakistan gained its economical power and enjoyed by having plenty of resources. People did not have much education so they kept on working in agriculture. Pakistani people were hard working and saw success in every field. Since the partition of Pakistan and India they kept on having some conflicts between them. In Pakistan Muslims, Christians and Hindus were living peacefully. Pakistan is known for its cultural norms because they strictly followed what the Kuran says and those who failed to follow will not be considered as Muslims. In Pakistan there was not much facilities in education where people immigrated to many other countries to continue their studies and settled there. After that immigration is still continuing in Pakistan. Many people immigrate to other countries due to business. This was the reason for the immigration where big amount of Pakistani Muslims presented in America. They are known as Pakistani Americans, moreover the number of Pakistani Americans is increasing still. Then all the human resources came down because lack of good members in politics. Political issues were the main cause for the problems faced by the Pakistani people. The increasing of corruption made in politics affected the lives of normal people. Normal people were affected where elite people lived a rich life. Pakistan met failure in education, in employment, in democracy and in shortage of human needs. So people trusted the Human Resources management to develop their sad situation. Their needs are an innovation in education, skills training for unemployment people and natural resources to lead life. At the beginning they were living satisfied life after the war, nuclear power, corruption, in politics and lack of help from the government changed their life totally. The demolition of The Twin Tower on September 11 changed the lives of the Pakistani people. All the Muslims were considered as terrorist therefore many Muslim writers all around the countries started to write about the real face of Islam people and their hardships after the September 11 attack. Pakistan EEOC Complaint Trends Executive Summary The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website was very informative in researching current trends in complaints being filed with the EEOC. The EEOC has the responsibility to oversee, investigate, and litigate claims of employment discrimination. I will discuss several EEOC current trends in complaints. First, I will discuss the American Disability Act of 1990. This Act was established to protect disabled people. Then, discuss several disability cases filed by EEOC.For example, Robin Parker-Garcia vs. Gannett Company, Inc. was a popular disability discrimination case filed by EEOC when an bipolar employee was fired because of his disability. Another case filed by the EEOC was the case of McCormick & Schmick. In this case, a complaint was filed by EEOC when this employee was fired because he was deaf. Some disability discrimination laws are similar in other countries to those in the United States. On the hand, there are some countries that d o not have discrimination laws to protect the people. / EEOC Current Complaint Trends Upon review of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission website I found that there are many employment related complaints that have been filed with EEOC. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is responsibility is to oversee, investigate, and litigate claims of employment discrimination. In other words, they enforce federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. In my opinion, people should be given the chance to obtain employment if they can work while being disabled.The current trend in EEOC complaints that I would like to discuss those that are in violation of the American Disability Act of 1990. This Act was established to protect disabled people. It states that all private and public employers with 15 or more employees are protected under this law. The law requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodation to an employee or job applicant with a disability, unless doing so wo uld cause significant difficulty or expense for the employer â€Å"undue hardship† (EEOC. gov). In the case of Robin Parker-Garcia-vs.Gannett Company, Inc. , she was unlawfully discharged because she was bipolar. Gannett Company, Inc. was in direct violation of the ADA. (Sunnucks, 2011) According to Mello, there is some concern as to whether certain medical conditions really are impairments and whether they limit any major life activity. In other words, not all medical conditions are physically related. The ADA protects those that are physically and mentally disabled. (Mello 2011, p. 302) Another interesting complaint filed with EEOC was the McCormick & Schmick case.According to the EEOC's suit, Vernon Davis, who has been deaf since childhood and uses American Sign Language and reads lips to communicate, satisfactorily performed his duties as a prep cook at the McCormick ; Schmick's National Harbor restaurant in Oxon Hill, Md. The EEOC said that at McCormick & Schmick's, Davi s was harassed by a former management official because of his disability, through mockery [†¦] and physical conduct. The EEOC also said that Davis's prep cook duties were removed and that he was transferred to a dishwasher position because of his disability.After Davis and others complained about Davis being subjected to disability discrimination, the restaurant demoted him to a janitorial-type position and cut his hours because of his disability and in retaliation for the complaints, the EEOC charged. Four months later, McCormick and Schmick's unlawfully fired Davis because of his disability and in retaliation for his complaints. (National Law Review) As I read both of the disability cases, I noticed that the EEOC has an important role in filing disability claims on behalf of the employee.In 2012, statistics show that Texas (8,929 charges) and Florida (7,940 charges) had the largest amount of disability discrimination claims filed by EEOC in the United States. As I reviewed th e EEOC site, I noticed that the EEOC is currently dealing with cases pertaining to disability discrimination and sexual harassment cases. Both types of cases are in violation of federal laws that has been put in place to protect those in the workplace. I totally agree with the discrimination laws because they protect people in the UnitedStates society as a whole. Nobody is exempt from filing a claim with the EEOC is they feel that their employment rights have been violated by their employer in the United States or globally. Based on further research on this topic, I discovered that other countries discrimination laws are similar to those in the United States. Many laws around the world prohibit sexual harassment and recognize that both men and women may be harassers or victims of sexual harassment. However, most claims of sexual harassment are made by women.In Australia, The Sex Discrimination Act of 1984 defines sexual harassment as â€Å"†¦unwanted conduct of a sexual nature . † Czech defines sex harassment as â€Å"undesirable behavior of a sexual nature at the workplace if such conduct is unwelcome, unsuitable or insulting [†¦]. † In contrast, France Article 222-33 of the French Criminal Code describes sexual harassment as, â€Å"The fact of harassing anyone using orders, threats or constraint, in order to obtain favors of a sexual nature, by a person abusing the authority that functions confer on him†¦ This means the harasser can only be someone with authority on the harassed (basically, there can't be sexual harassment between coworkers of the same rank. This was an eye opener for me because it is the total opposite in the United States. An U. S. employee can file a complaint against the boss as well as a coworker for sexual harassment in the workplace. (humanresource. com) Another employment law that is faced in other countries is disability discrimination.The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilit ies (CRPD), passed in 2006, is the main international policy document addressing the rights of disabled persons. Framing disability as a human rights issue, the CRPD makes general human rights law applicable to persons with disabilities and clarifies existing international laws concerning disabilities. According to the World Report on Disability (2011) article, A 2005 global survey found that of the 114 countries participating: 48 countries did not adopt rehabilitation policies and 57 countries did not pass rehabilitation legislation.As for accessibility standard, 54 percent had none for outside environments, 43 percent had none for public building, and 44 percent had none for schools and health facilities. About 65 percent had not started educational programs, and 58 percent had not allocated funds to disability programs. Reasons included lack of strategic planning, lack of resources and health infrastructure, and lack of a coordinating agency. Non-compliance is also a problem, eve n among developed countries such as Australia, Brazil, Denmark, India, and the United States.Other countries are lacking disability discrimination laws. There is much work to be done in order for them to come into compliance so that they can help the disabled community. The lack of strategic planning and a lack of resources are main barriers in helping the disabled community in other countries with disability discrimination issues. References EEOC. gov. Retrieved January 30, 2013 from http://www. eeoc. gov/laws/types/disability. cfm Mello, J. A. (2011). Strategic human resources management. (3rd ed. ). Mason, OH: SouthWestern/Cencage.Sunnucks, D. (2011). EEOC charges Gannett company with discrimination. Retrieved January 30, 2013 from http://www. natlawreview. com/article/mccormick-schmick-s-to-pay- 47814-to-settle-eeoc-disability-discrimination-lawsuit What is human resource. com. Sexual harassment, different countries. Retrieved January 31, 2013 from http://www. whatishumanresourc e. com/sexual-harassment-different-countries World report on disability. (2011) Retrieved January 31, 2013 from http://www. globalization101. org/world-report-on-disability-3/

Abortion in India

Abortion in India is more common than those would think, quite often a daily occurrence. In India, abortions are completely common because women are quite often having abortions after finding out the sex of the child. Not only is aborting a certain sex frowned upon, but the abortions given in India are often extremely poorly done because of the lack of trained professionals. Abortion in India should be more safe and sterile, while also done by properly trained professionals whom specialize in this area.Unfortunately in India the situation involving trained doctors and nurses for safe abortions is highly lacking making it much harder to provide for those in need of an abortion. Due to that other physicians and nurses get trained to provide medical abortions. â€Å"Abortion has been legalized in India for the past three decades† which made it possible to have medical and or surgical abortions available (Sarala Gopalan). Along with that came the complications of aborting certain sexes causing the passing of a law â€Å"India passed a law in 1994 making it illegal to abort a fetus based on its sex† (Kirkey).That law was passed because many Indian people were having children, trying to have a boy and when not successful would get an abortion. Quite often most of these abortions happened to be an unhealthy or unsafe abortion â€Å"Unsafe abortions constitute a major threat to the health and lives of women† (Sarala Gopalan). The result of an unsafe abortion can end up with terrible outcomes such as incomplete abortion, sepsis, haemorrhage, and damage to internal organs. The most major result of an unsafe abortion can result in the person receiving the abortion to die.

Impact of Interpersonal Skills and Capabilities of Leadership on Knowledge Based Organizations Essay

Abstract: The role of leadership in the success of any organization is very much important. Although in Pakistan very little importance is given to this aspect of organizations inspite of this its importance cannot be denied. In other words, Leadership is the backbone of any knowledge centric organization. This research article shed light on the importance of effective leadership skills and practices which can lead any organization to its golden era. The main focus of the study is the changing nature of leadership with the evolution in the meaning of knowledge based organizations. The study is descriptive in nature and relies on secondary as well as questionnaire based survey. INTRODUCTION Knowledge based organizations are usually considered to be those whose products or services are knowledge -intensive. Knowledge based organizations (also referred as knowledge-enabled or knowledge- intensive organization) are usually described in terms of the knowledge intensity of their product or service. The greater the degree to which knowledge forms the core of the product or service, the more knowledge- based the organization. However, using products or services as a mean for categorizing the knowledge – based organization is inadequate. Products or services reflect only the tangible part of the organization. The primary resource that enables an organization to produce is hidden within the â€Å"invisible asset – intellectual capital†. (Itami, 1987). Knowledge- based organizations (KBOs) lives and breathes knowledge. From day–to-day operations to long-term strategy, creating and applying knowledge is always in the forefront. Prior researches have explored which factors are  essential for managing knowledge effectively. Most studies of them have examined the relationship of knowledge management capabilities, processes and performance. Some researchers have focused on the relationship between capabilities and processes (Hansen, 1999; Szulanski, 1996; Zander & Kogut, 1995). Other studies have focused on the relationship between capabilities and organizational performance (Becerra- Fernandez & Sabherwal, 2001; Gold, Malhotra & Segars, 2001; Simonin, 1997). A key to understanding the success and failure of knowledge management within the organization is the identification and assessment of various factors that are necessary for the knowledge management performance measurement with a balanced view (Arora, 2002; Gooijer, 2000). In this study, we examine the relationship among the interpersonal skills and capabilities towards the knowledge-based organizations. To serve this purpose we figure out the core constructs of interpersonal skills and capabilities. Knowledge based organization base their competitiveness on knowledge .Interpersonal skills and capabilities can be critical for the knowledge based organization. Skills are linked with personal knowledge management in knowledge focused organization. Skills can be either basic or cross functional. In basic skills we develop capabilities that assist in the learning of knowledge on the other hand cross functional skills are the ability to carry out the tasks the can help the organization to boost up. Interpersonal skills involve not only how we communicate with others. Aside our confidence and capability to listen and understand, problem solving decision making and personal stress management all these are related to the interpersonal skills and capabilities. Interpersonal skills and capabilities allow dealing effectively with persons of different temperaments, backgrounds and educational qualification in the organization. Knowledge leadership has a capability to built good relation with subordinates and dealing with them. An organization is successful when it posses good team capabilities and interpersonal skills. People create and share knowledge therefore, managing people who are willing  to create and share knowledge is important. Knowledge and competence can be acquired by hiring new people with desirable skills. In particular, T-shape skills embodied in employees are most often associated with core capability. T-shaped skills may enable individual specialists to have synergistic conversations with one another (Madhaven & Grover, 1980). Although a company’s value is generated by intangible assets like knowledge or brands. Performance measurement is one of the most important management activities. Performance measurement becomes the basis of strategy establishment and achievement in the future because it can definitely bring a company’s vision and strategic target to all organization members. 3 Objectives of Study âž ¢ The objective of our study is to examine the relationship among the interpersonal skills, capabilities and performance of knowledge-based organizations. âž ¢ To develop the results that the primary resources that enables the organization to perform extraordinary lies within â€Å"intangible assets (intellectual capital)†. 4 Significance of Study Now intangible assets such as knowledge rather than tangible financial assets are a measure of a company’s value. Knowledge is the one of the important resource that increases the value of organizations and gives them an edge over competitors. Therefore various attempts to measure organizational performance in knowledge management have been conducted accordingly. 5 Problem Statement Interpersonal skills and capabilities of leadership have a strong impact on the performance of knowledge based organizations. 6 Rational of Study With the shift of industrial economy to knowledge economy there is a need to recognize the value of preserving and sharing knowledge among the organizational communities. This includes the development of strategic knowledge focus, knowledge leadership factors which promote knowledge culture and its impacts on knowledge workers and outcomes of the organization. LITERATURE REVIEW Organizational theorists have defined knowledge based organizations (KBO) in various ways. Knowledge based organizations (Perez- Bustamante, 1999) are organizations applying a knowledge based approach to the organization. This approach perceives organizations as a means for the development, integration, preservation, sharing and application of knowledge. (Wu, Ong & Hsu, 2008) add that knowledge based organizations allocate resources to intangible assets in the rapidly changing and highly competitive business environment in order to gain competitive advantage. Gold, Malhotra, & Segars (2001) examined an empirically effective knowledge management model from the perspective of organizational capabilities. Sveiby (1997) developed an intangible asset monitor (IAM) to measure the performance of intangible assets such as human capital, structural capital, and market capital. Based on the analysis of secondary data (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995; Choo, 1998; Trunecek, 2003; Bartak, 2006; Calabrese , 2006; Bures, 2007; Medzihorsky & Medzihorska, 2007; Sladecek, 2007) by mean of the method of comparison, the following general characteristics of knowledge based organization were identified. |Knowledge Based Organizations | |Creates, integrates, preserves, shares and applies knowledge; | |Is efficient, innovative, flexible and proactive; | |Is customer focused; | |Uses ITs; | |Has a strong and open corporate culture; | |Implements knowledge processes; | |Exploits knowledge resources; | |Manage risks; | |Implements project management; | |Places emphasis on education and organizational learning; | |Disposes of knowledge employees; | |Is process- oriented | |Supports team work; | |Encourages participation in management | (Martina, Hana & Jiri, 2012) 1 Capability (Competency- Based Approach) â€Å"Competency† is a commonly used term for people asserting of their working potential in real activities. The first characterizes competencies as a power and a scope of authority associated with a certain person or body. The second meaning of competencies refers to the capacity, i.e. abilities to perform a certain activity, to have certain general and specific characteristics and skills, to be qualified in the given area. Generally it can be said that it is a set of specific knowledge, abilities, skills, traits, motives, attitudes and values essential for the personal development and successful participation of each person in the organization. This refers to the performance aspect of a competency determined by the level of inputs (knowledge, abilities, skills, traits, motives, attitudes and values) and  measured by the analysis of output (real behavior and results). According to its development, it is possible to divide competencies into three main development phrases. The first phrase consists of individual competencies (White, 1959; McClelland, 1973; Boyatziz, 1982; Schroder, 1989; Woodruffe, 1992; Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Carroll & McCrackin, 1997). The second phase is based on the possibility of managing competencies in an organization by mean of competency models (Mensfield, 1996; mcLagan, 1997; Lucia & Lepsinger, 1999; Rothwell & Lindholm, 1999). The third phase is the identification of core competencies, a sum of organization key organizational competencies that may be exploited to gain competitive advantage (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990; Ulrich & Lake, 1991; Gallon, Stillman, & Coates, 1995; Coyne, Hall, & Clifford, 19 97; Rothwell & Lindholm, 1999; Delamare & Wintertone, 2005). 2 Interpersonal Skills Studies say 90 percent of executive failures are attributable to interpersonal competencies, factors such as leading teams, developing a positive work environment, retaining staff, inspiring trust, and coping with change. If you lack the skills to motivate your frontline employees to accept and optimally use new information technologies, your organization could be missing revenue opportunities. This category grows out of what previous research has referred to as interpersonal skills involve social perceptiveness (Graham, 1983; Mintzberg, 1973; Yukl, 1989) to allow for an awareness of other’s reactions and understanding of why they react the way they do. The interpersonal skill requirement also includes the skills required for coordination of actions of oneself and others (Gillen & Carroll, 1985; Mumford, Marks, Connelly, Zaccaro, & Reiter-Palmon, 2000) and negotiations skills to reconcile differences among employee perspective and establish mutually satisfying relationships (C opeman, 1971; Mahoney, Jerdee, & Carroll, 1963; Mahoney et al., 1965; Mintzberg, 1973), and persuasion skills to influence others to more effectively accomplish organizational objectives (Katz, 1974; mintzberg, 1973; Yukl, 1989). METHODOLOGY 1 Data Collection and Sample Description Samples were restricted to the companies that adopted knowledge management or held similar process innovation campaigns. The sample was designed to include people from different position, departments and industries. Respondents include executive rank managers of various organizations. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire based survey. The questionnaire’s data is arranged in terms of various variables and five-point Likert scales are used. Respondents are asked to indicate the extent to which they disagree or agree with the given statement by selecting a point on the scales for each question. (Where 1= strongly agree and 5= strongly disagree). 2 Survey Instrument This research uses a survey questionnaire to test the hypothesis. The questionnaire consists of 26 items about leadership skills, practices and the performance of knowledge based organizations. Items about leadership skills consist of cognitive skills (four items), interpersonal skills (three items), and strategic skills (two items). Leadership practices consist of leading by example (two items), coaching (six items), team interaction (three items). Knowledge based organizations performance is assessed using three items including: organizations products (two items), employees performance (two items), and organization reputation in the market (two items). 3 Theoretical Framework The dependent variable is knowledge centric organizations performance, which is the variable of primary interest. We attempt to explain the variance in this dependent variable by the two independent variables of (1) Leadership skills and (2) Leadership practices. By General Colin Powell’s: â€Å"Leadership is the art of routinely accomplishing more than the science of management  says is possible†. Interpersonal skills are â€Å"Considers and responds appropriately to the needs, feelings and capabilities of different people in different situations, is tactful, compassionate and sensitive, and treats with respect†. D.V I.V 5 Hypothesis Ho= Leadership does not affects knowledge based organization’s performance. Ho: p = 0 HA= Leadership affects knowledge based organization’s performance. HA: p >1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |Variables |Mean |S.D |N |Cronbach’s alpha | |Independent variables | |Cognitive skills |1.64 |0.7795 |100 |.564 | |Interpersonal skills |1.53 |0.6276 |100 |.371 | |Strategic skills |1.60 |0.7695 |100 |.289 | |Leading by example |1.72 |0.828 |100 |.682 | |Coaching |1.62 |0.7848 |100 |.781 | |Team interaction |1.80 |0.904 |100 |.784 | |Dependent variables | |Organization’s performance |1.85 |0.8027 |100 |.562 | |Organization’s offerings |1.96 |0.8795 |100 |.676 | The leadership skills requirement means range from 1.53 to 1.64 and the S.D ranges from .6276 to .7795, showing a good range and variation. The leadership practices means range from 1.62 to 1.80 and the S.D ranges from .7848 to .904, while organization’s performance mean valued at 1.85 and S.D .8027 and organization’s offerings mean calculated 1.96 and S.D .8795. The correlation between CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This research proposes and tests a model of leadership skills and practices to better understand the contribution of leadership towards the performance of knowledge centric organizations. The main objective of this research is to investigate the relationship between the leadership skills, practices and KBO’s performance. The findings show how leadership improves the performance of knowledge centric organizations. A knowledge organization focuses on developing interpersonal, structural and network relationships to achieve its goals and objectives effectively and to further generate new knowledge and capabilities for organizational competitiveness and success. Several aspects of the leadership skills were tested, most of which attained empirical support. The major findings are as follow. First, leadership skills grouped into three- parts complex: cognitive, interpersonal and strategic skills. Second, leadership skills were related to organizationallevels. That is, jobs at higher level in the organization have significantly greater overall leadership skill requirement. These findings have important implications for organizational research and practice. They provide empirical evidence of the usefulness of considering different categories of leadership skills. Practically, this indicates that careful attention should be given to management development systems because as managers proceed from lower, to mid, to top level jobs, the rate at which they acquire strategic skills will need to be faster than that for leadership skills in general. Our results imply that effective leadership skills and practices positively impacts key aspects of KBO’s performance. We hope that future research will take advantage of the conceptual and practical findings and further test the model in the other organizations and improve management development, placement and hiring system in knowledge centric organizations.

Magnum Ice cream Launch in the US Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Magnum Ice cream Launch in the US Market - Essay Example According to the study the product has a unique appearance as it is golden in colour, which resembles liquid gold. The value proposition of the company is to provide the ultimate ice-cream experience for adults. The chief competitive advantage of the company is that it is the first ice-cream brand to target its products at adults. It is the biggest brand of Unilever ice-creams.   From this paper it is clear that Magnum Ice Cream is a part of the Unilever company. Over the past few years, the company has recorded rapid growth in its business. Recently, the company has been trying to emerge as the top player in the U.S. ice-cream industry.  The U.S. market produced about 1.53 billion gallons of ice-cream and related frozen desserts in 2011. The revenue from ice-cream sales was above 10 million in 2010 with take home market sales comprising 67.7 % of the total market value. The retail volume sales of ice-cream are expected to decline by 1% in 2013 because of the global economic rece ssion.  The U.S. has very low political risk for any business that wishes to enter into the country. As the company will mainly operate in the food industry, it may be subject to U.S. Food and Drug Administration laws for fair business practices.  The economic situation of the country is at an all time low as U.S. is one of the most developed countries of the world. The country has witnessed one of the most severe recessions, which began in 2007 and continued till 2009.

PR Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PR Assignment 2 - Essay Example Most of the employees are familiar with the people working in public relation department therefore it becomes quite easier for them to communicate their grievances (Dennis). 2. Fernando Figueredo, head of multicultural practice for Porter Novelli, suggests that there are some unique characteristics shared by three major minority groups. These groups include Hispanics, African and Asian Americans. 3. These three groups are going to control majority of the businesses of USA. Frequent immigrations to USA on part of the people belonged to these groups suggests that USA is regarded as a platform from where entrepreneurs can unleash their potential. Corporations in general while FMCG’s in particular should start to recognize these groups as a separate market segment which have different needs and wants as compared to their American counterparts. Therefore marketers should try to reach Hispanics, Africans and Asians in a culturally relevant manner. This technique will support the re-purchase behavior of consumers. There are many corporations which are trying to reach consumers in the way they want. Mc Donald and Pepsi are among such corporations. Therefore it can be concluded that diversity among consumers should be viewed as an opportunity to earn more profits rather than considering it a threat (Dennis). 4. The use of social networking websites is growing at an exponential rate. The workplace is also not safe from use of social networking websites. Therefore employers have to take steps so that employees can concentrate on the work. I believe that employers are right if the are blocking the social networking websites during office hours. Employee is expected to give his full time and energy when he or she is on the job. 5. Employee should not consider it something negative because office timings are those timings in which he has to contribute towards the overall productivity of the organization. If I will not be allowed by my

BYD Company analyse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

BYD Company analyse - Essay Example Furthermore, the organisation has also marked its presence in the automobile industry during the year 2003 and since, then this Strategic Business Unit (SBU) has witnessed a robust growth. In the current day context, the organisation has also earned the reputation of being the fastest growing automobile organisation during the last few years. It also has been the global pioneer in manufacturing energy vehicles, which includes pure electric models and Dual Mode electric models (BYD Company Limited 2015). In is also worth mentioning that the organisational growth is largely because of the development of Research and Development (R&D) team of the organisation. The R&D team of the organisation has largely contributed in the development of energy storage system, LED lighting, and solar energy products, amongst others (BYD Company Limited 2015). Contextually, the objective of the current study is to prepare a business report that would guide the organisation in effective expansion in the c ontinent of Europe by targeting the car market operating in Germany. Analysis of the macro and microenvironment of European hybrid-car industry is extremely important for the current study. However, in the study special emphasis is provided to the German market. In order to conduct effective environment analysis, PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces analysis are considered most suitable to increase the transparency and ensure effective development. Therefore, the underlying subheads address the analyses of the external as well as internal environment using these marketing tools. Alike most of the nations in Europe, Germany is also a democratic nation. It is notable that the political environment of Germany along with other nations of Europe is mostly stable. This considerably encourages investors from different nations to invest in European nations including Germany (Jerez-Mir and Vazquez 2009). Besides these, it is notable that the governments of

History of Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Management - Coursework Example Some of the known theorists whose theory’s themes are still in use now are Fredrick Taylor, Henri Fayol and Max Weber. They developed scientific management theory, modern operational-management theory and bureaucratic theory respectively. Managers use the ideas in the theories to run their duties and perform the organizations' activities to achieve their objectives. For example, many managers use the ideas to coordinate their workers, organize their plans, administer worker’s payments and employ skilled workers to achieve the company objectives. Frederick Taylor developed the scientific management theory in the 1880s and 1890s in the manufacturing industries. Scientific management is a management theory that synthesis and analyzes workflows. Its major objective is improving the efficiency of economics, mostly the labour productivity. It among the earliest attempts to use science in management and engineering processes. It needs a high-level managerial control of employe e practices on their work and entails a high managerial workers ratio to labourers than the prior management periods (Frederick, 2007). The theory evolved in an era when automation and mechanization were infancies. The methods and ideas of the theory extended to the American manufacturing system in the craft transformation in automation and mechanization. Therefore, the over labour-displacing technologies concerns rose with the increase of automation and mechanization (Frederick, 2007). Hence, the theory influences some of the management strategies in today’s industries. The theory guide on the worker’s payment. Fredrick studied that some employees were more talented compared to others, and the smart ones were mostly unmotivated. He also observed that many employees that got forced to work repetitive jobs tend to work at a slower rate that is unpunished.

Take a position Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Take a position - Essay Example This paper concludes by giving an international example of a social responsibility that is conducted by renowned Olympics organization which brought about a great change to the society.â€Æ' Athletes are the most visible expression of performance and financial success in the United States. They have an influential power that can bring people from different diversities to come up with amazing strategies in the society. They can allow the people through their various activities related to the society. They should be outspoken because they have even surpassed the Hollywood actors in entertaining. They have to get past athlete’s corporate and personal advisers and think about what is best for the people of their nation. The loyalty to the athlete programs should not be larger than those of the human race. Athletes have to stand up for the human race whose voice has been silenced and whose living are being banished by the policies and orders of the country. It is because they are a public figure. The less unfortunate people in the society are as much important as the athletes themselves, their coaches and also their fans. Athletes have an obligation to struggle for social justice. They should refuse to comply with the rules, regulations and restrictions that discriminate, violates and persecutes human race. They should be ready to sacrifice their luxurious living for the sake of recognition of the people’s rights and better living condition. Despite the critics that they might face in making this decision, they should be sure to stand by what is right and what they believe. Athletes can change lives through social duties. The reason is that athletics has power to bring about strong emotions and encourage health, friendship and respect. They can be able to enable and inspire people with intellectual disability through sports. Sports help them to improve physical fitness, show courage, and be involved in the sharing of gifts; talents

Interpretive explication essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Interpretive explication - Essay Example He was accused of stealing a deer. Shakespeare worked in London as a bit actor and member of a theatrical company headed by Richard Burbage that presented plays at the Globe and other London theaters. He was also an associate of a jolly group of men whose revels at the Mermaid Tavern were as famous as their escapades. He had a friend in the person of the Earl of Southampton to whom he dedicated his early poems. â€Å"His real dramatic work began when he was twenty-seven and which extended over a period of twenty years. He made an average of two plays yearly, in addition to his poetry. Because his dramas were popular, he made enough money to retire to Stratford-on-Avon† (Cross, Smith & Stauffer, 1931). On May 4, 1597, he bought large dwelling – a pretty house of brick and timber, with a handsome garden – an indication of his growing prosperity. There his wife and children lived, while he buried himself in the London theaters. On April 23, 1616, the anniversary of his birth, William Shakespeare died and was buried on April 25 within the chancel of Trinity Church, as befitting an honored citizen. On August 6, 1623, a few months before the collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, Anne Shakespeare joined her husband in death (Wright and Lamar, 1967) We shall now endeavor to provide the reader with a brief paraphrase for the above sonnet, giving an interpretation of its fundamental meaning. The poem starts out with a beautiful but melancholy description of Autumn – a season of the falling of yellow leaves – few or none at all. The scene is made more dismal with the absence of the sweet songbirds that have perhaps flown away or perished due to the cold. The poet then addresses the beloved, saying: â€Å"In me, you see the autumn of life, the twilight of day which will soon yield to night. Seeing this, your love is strengthened for one whom you must soon lose (THESIS). We digress at this point to

Political Power Essay Example for Free

Political Power Essay Power could be defined as â€Å"the ability to bring about change† according to Beyond intractability. Org website (http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Power/). Power is the ability to influence the behavior of the others so as to make them do what one wants.   It entails authority and control.   Thus political power is the authority to control a society. Political power can be manipulated leading to negative use by the person or people holding it.   There are many bad uses of political power that can result from holding of the power by an irresponsible person. Such negative uses include dictatorship, corruption and oppression of the society.   Political power can also be used positively to bring benefit to the society. Political power can be used to foster development, to maintain peace and also to protect the society from external threats of invasion.   Despite the various harsh negative uses of political power, the positive uses shows that political power does not always lead to negative outcomes.   Political power can be effectively used to bring a lot of benefits to the society. Political power can be used to perpetrate corruption. People holding much political power can use it inappropriately to engage in corruption. This is particularly possible when much of the power is vested on a few individuals and there is no evaluation or a watchdog on how this power is used.   When they get enticed to use it for their personal gain at the expense of the society for which they are supposed to care. Corruption is abuse of office or power by a person so as he can benefit.   Corruption can take many forms all leading to great injustices to the society.   When political officers get into office, they do so promising the society that they will serve the interest of the society before their own personal gains.   However, after gaining political power they uphold their personal gain.   This can be done through misappropriation of funds whereby the offices holding the power spends public funds in a way that do not bring benefits to the society.   Example of misappropriation of funds may entail starting of projects that are not necessary to the society or buying luxurious facilities for their use at the expense of other more necessary facilities. Corruption can also be in the form of embezzlement o f public funds.   The political officers may use their power to get access to money belonging to the public through public corporations and use it for their own personal interests.   Facilities of such corporation can be wrongly used to serve the officer’s personal interests instead of their official use. Such actions lead to poor performance of such corporation leading to difficulties in meeting the essential needs of the society.   If funds belonging to a government institution, for example, a hospital are embezzled by a few officers, it means the hospital is not able to offer the services it is supposed to offer efficiently.   This will lead to great suffering of the members of the society which depend on such public facilities.   It is also very unfair to the society as they pay taxes so that they government can offer such services Corruption can also take the form of bribery.   This is mostly an administrative form of corruption but can be perpetrated by political officers also.   This involves the political officers asking for bribes from the members of society or organization so as they can be offered certain services. The is bribes may range from small gifts to massive amounts of money.   This form of corruption means the members of society are not able to get services without parting with other resources.   It also means there is segregation of some of the members of the society as, if they fail to raise the required bribes, they don’t get access to the resources they need. Corruption can also lead to extortion.   This entails use of political power by the political officers to obtain something by illegal threats.   The political officers may acquire interests in certain things or organization though issuing threats or force. Corruption has various costs to a country. If corruption is predominant in a country all the members of society are affected in one way or another.   The wealth of such a country is significantly affected leading to decrease in income.   The economy in a very corrupt state will be poor and businesses will not operate efficiently.   Consequently, the national income goes down affecting the ability of the government to offer essential services to the citizens.   This will inform produce a society with high rates of illiteracy and poverty. In the animal farm Napoleon used his political power to instigate corruption. He changed the rules from what had been collectively agreed to what suited his rule. He also used the dogs to threaten any other animal that opposed his rule. Napoleon and the other pigs also used the property of the farm for their own use which the other animals had not agreed upon. Another negative use of political power is establishment of dictatorship rule. Dictatorship is whereby the country is controlled by one or a few individuals who have absolute power.   Their rule is not limited by anyone, buy law constitution or social justices.   They do what they want. To gain dictatorship political officers use the little political power they have to gain more political power and later dictatorship. This is possible through oppression of nay efforts that try to limit their power.   This may include execution of people who take the bold steps of openly opposing the rule of these political powers. Dictators take control of all the operations of power in the country and personalize the rule. The dictatorship may also regulate all the actions by the citizens of a country and directs these actions against the will or consent of the citizens. Dictatorships are influenced by different factors that lead the political rules to misuse their political powers and establish dictatorships.   There are many countries that have been ruled by dictators or are still ruled by dictators.   An example of dictatorship is Stalinism which was a regime established by Joseph Stalin who lived between 1878 and 1953 in United Social Soviet Republic.   He was a dictator party leader whose tenure and campaigns costed lives of millions of people.   His rule had big negative impacts on USSR but also transformed it from a peasant society to an industrial nation http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstalin.htm). In George Orwell’s book (1996), the Animal Farm he depicts how people struggle collectively to oust bad rule but after gaining control, the few who are trusted with the political power misuse it and establishes an autocratic form of rule whereby they dictate on all the others. The pigs in the story, after chasing the oppressive farmer, took control of the farm and established a rule that oppressed the other animals.   The animals that questioned the rule were mistreated or executed (Orwell 1996). Napoleon used mudslinging to destroy the reputation of Snowball and later chased him from the farm. These represent how people who oppose a dictator are exiled after being falsely accused. This is typical of many African and Asian countries whereby after gaining independence form colonialism, the leaders who were trusted with political power went ahead to establish dictatorship.   Other examples of dictators include Idd Amin of Uganda, Hu Chi Minh of North Vietnam and Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Oppression of citizens and social injustices is another form of negative use of political power.   In this case, the leaders vested with political power bends the rules, and perpetrate actions that lead to oppression of citizens and social injustices.   The law or the constitution is not followed and injustice becomes inaccessible to the society. In political system where citizen are oppressed and social injustice are rife, a few people control all the branches of government. Though the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of the government may seem independent, this few individuals use their political powers to influence the operations of all these branches.   This results to much suffering of the citizens and as the justice system are faulty the citizen lack a forum through which their injustices can be addressed. In modern society this can be done through practices like imposition of rules that are aimed at oppressing the citizens, coercion to the citizens to carry out certain actions and even detention of some prominent people.   The individuals who do not support the action of those with the political power are mistreated, detained or exiled. In the Animal farm, George Orwell depicts how this is done when the pigs after assuming the leadership of the other animals change the rules and uses their power to mistreat, overwork, starve and oppress the other animals (Orwell 1996). Napoleon sold off one of the animals after he became old and less productive. This was an act of betrayal and oppression of the animal as he had also taken part in the fight for their independence. Political power can also be used for the benefits of the society. There are many countries that have benefited from positive use of the political powers to the benefit of the society.   One way political power can be used positively is fostering development can greatly be encouraged through use of political power to create the right environment for development.   Political powers can be used to enact laws, policies and strategies that are aimed at fostering development.   As the political systems influence much of the economic systems in a country, positive use of the political power can lead to positive influence on the economy of a country. The leaders vested with political power can use this pioneer to help enact laws or policies that will encourage investment and expansion of the economy.   This may be in the form of providing incentives to investors building effective infrastructures or providing a conducive environment for the economy to flourish.   In the animal farm the decision to build the windmill was a good idea aimed at bringing development in the farm and comfort to the animals (Orwell 1996). United States is a country that has massive political power that is used to foster developments. The country has a free market economy with policies encouraging conducive running of the economy.   A country like Japan has used their political power to build good infrastructures that facilitate expansion of their economy. Another positive use of political power is maintenance of peace. Political power can be effectively used to maintain peace and order in the country.   As peace is very crucial for co-existence and development in a country such use of political power can lead to great benefits to the country.   The political leaders can use their authority and influence in the society they rule to encourage and foster good co-existence between the citizens.    Political powers are needed to ensure that this happens.   The leader will use their authority to maintain order in the society and make sure that no one single citizen engages in practices that infringe the rights of others.   Laws are enacted to guide the actions of the citizens and certain strategies are taken to make sure that the laws are followed.   Political power is used to establish such a system. In Orwell’s Animal Farm the animal had collaborated to come up with rules that were aimed at maintaining good co-existence among the animals (Orwell 1996). This is done through establishment of a police force that maintains law and order and enactment of a court system that ensures that those who defy the rules are punished or forced to obey. Political power also establishes the judicial system that offers a forum through which the citizens can have their rights enforced.   All these actions bring peace by ensuring all the citizens get their rights and live harmoniously. Another positive use of political power is protection of the country from invasion. Political power is used in establishment of strategies of ensuring that a country is protected from external invasion.   This will ensure that the country is safe from threats and can concentrate on development. Political power can be utilized in different ways to protect a country from external attacks.   First the political leader can use their power and authority to help and lead in formation of policies aimed at protecting the country from possible attacks.   These policies may include security measures aimed at preventing such attacks.   The political powers can also establish armed forces that will maintain the security of the country and defend it in case of any external attacks. Weapons can also be acquired either through manufacturing or purchase form other countries aiming at providing a security measure to prevent or defend an attack.   Political leaders can also use their authority to established partnerships links with other countries aimed at fostering co-operation thus minimizing threat of attack from those countries.   These co operations may also be used as partners in maintenance of the peace of the country.   Such partners will collaborate in case of an attack or in strategies aimed at minimizing possibilities of an attack. In Orwell’s Animal Farm he depicted good use of political power when the animals united in their fight against Mr. Jones, the earlier owner of the farm. Because of this unity they were able to defeat Mr. Jones (Orwell 1996). Political leaders can use their authority to influence the practices of their country so as to prevent any actions that may trigger attacks from other countries.   Such actions may include neutrality in conflicts involving other parties. Countries in Europe have formed the European Union aimed at co-operation and collaboration in different issues.   This union unites the country hence minimizing the possibility of attack of one country by another.   There are many such unions that have been formed for such purposes including organization for economic co-operation and development (OECD) and the African Union (AU). Other countries in Europe and other places have formed NATO which is aimed at collaboration to prevent attacks form other countries.   All these efforts are aimed at protection of the individual countries and are established by political powers Political power can be used to instigate very bad and harmful activities in a country such as corruption, dictatorship and oppression of citizens. These activities lead to a lot of suffering and deterioration of economies of such countries.   However, political power can also be used to establish policies and practices for the benefit of a country. Political power is a key ingredient for development, peace and safety of a country.   Actually for country to be successful it must have a good and strong political powers that will help instigate the success.   Ã‚  Thus, it is evidence that political power does not always lead to negative outcomes.   It can be used effectively to produce many benefits to a society. Reference: Beyondintractability.org. Power. Retrieved on February 6, 2008 from http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/Power/ Orwell G. (1996).Animal Farm. New York; New American Library. Spartacus educational. Joseph Stalin. Retrieved on February 6, 2008 from http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSstalin.htm

Dealing With Low And High Achievements In Teaching Education Essay

Dealing With Low And High Achievements In Teaching Education Essay Teaching is not a normal job that can be practiced by any person since it is the transmitting knowledge, behavior, and educational programs. The teacher is responsible for instructing others who may belong to different types of human behavior (Smith, 1997). The purpose of educational or learning groups is to acquire new information or skill through a sharing of knowledge. In most small group learning situations all members have something to teach and something to learn in-text citation is required (Smith, 1997). The role of the teacher is to provide a lecture in the classroom which means transmitting knowledge to a group of students. It is the traditional role of the teacher as one of the information provider in the lecture context. Moreover, the teacher plays an important role in increasing the practical skill of the students. Also, teachers are responsible for facilitating the learning process and mentoring the students performance. Furthermore, teachers are planners for the organization of the contents, the educational strategies, and the educational environment (Harden, 2000). The No Child Left Behind law has brought wide changes to education across the nation. It affects what students are taught, the tests they take, the training of their teachers and the way money is spent on education. Therefore, based on this law, teachers must be highly qualified to teach core academic subjects in every classroom. Specifically, an elementary school teacher must have a bachelors degree and pass a t test in core curriculum areas. While middle and high school teachers must show theyre competent in the subjects they teach by passing a test or by completing an academic major, graduate degree or comparable coursework. The qualification of the teacher helps in giving individual assistant on low achiever as well as high achiever. However, some teachers focus on the low achiever leaving the intelligent students or the high achiever behind which decrease their skills and ambitious (Harden, 2000). 1.1 Purpose of the study The purpose of this study is to shed light on the role of the teachers in the classroom regarding the existence of both high achievers as well as low achiever students. The study will investigate the impact of giving individual assistance to a segment of the class on the engagement of high achievers in teaching and learning process. H1: increased attention on low achievers will influence negatively on the achievement of gifted or high achiever students H2: teachers can demotivate the successful students which may lead to their failure or their withdrawal from school. Chapter II Literature Review A serious problem nowadays is faced in schools and education which is Giftedness. The meaning of this word can be summarized by a simple sentence measure of potential. Children vary with their ability to understand and get knowledge. Some students are gifted as named by many authors and need little help by their teachers while others have lower abilities to acquire as fast as those mentioned first. The problem stands that focusing on smart children can cause a big trouble to those who fall behind. In other words, the idea of failing to challenge a gifted mind will lead to low self-esteem and under- achievement to the child who thinks he is in the second place. Lack of training in the classroom is leading teachers to lose the ability on recognizing gifted children. Only half of those gifted students are receiving the care they need because gifted students are misdiagnosed. To have ability, to feel power you are never allowed to use, can become shocking and destroying. Many researchers consider the gifted as the largest group of under-achievers in education. According to the National Association for Gifted Children, there is frustration that leads to physical and psychological pain. 2.1.1Gifted Education There are several signs that show giftedness such as endless questions, curiosity, explore subjects, precision in thinking, and the ability to concentrate on intellectually challenging. Children having these signs may require follow intelligence testing so the childs educational needs can be properly provided. Profoundly high achiever students are unique individuals with different talents and interests. Through the follow up of the educational needs, a challenging educational program should be identified in order to develop the intellectual ability since gifted person need coaching to acheive suitable education at a level appropriate to their abilities. Children are becoming more annoyed and unmotivated because of the unappropriate challenge that they are facing at schools. Thats why Students will dumb-down and hide their intelligence to fit in the class if the teachers give a lot of care to the low achievers. The options that help gifted students start by the early entrance to first grade then they must be introduces to independent, multi-age gifted classes in addition to the increase of grades. However, experts stress that gifted kids are children with  special academic needs, who do not always do well without appropriate instruction.   2.1.1.1 Identifying gifted students Schools gifted programs are the most widely known identifications that occur in schools nowadays. Services that recognize gifted students occur in schools and show the levels of students in it (Bruer, 1997). 2.1.1.2 Characteristics Behavior of Gifted Students Gifted children have better comprehension of the nuances of language in early stages. It is clearly shown that half of the talented and gifted population has learned before entering schools. Moreover the rate of reading with less practice has been considered as one of the most commonly known behaviors of giftedness. Constructing and handling abstractions, picking up and interpreting nonverbal cues, drawing inferences and recognizing large vocabularies are also talent of gifted students. Gifted children are natural learners and have an eye for important details. They often prefer reading books and articles written by people older than their age. Their abilities often set them apart from their age mates. The characteristics of gifted students are as following: they are fluent thinkers, able to generate possibilities, consequences, or related ideas, they are flexible thinkers, able to use many different alternatives and approaches to problem solving.  They are original thinkers, seeking new, unusual, or unconventional associations and combinations among items of information. They are sensitive to beauty and are attracted to aesthetic values (Riley, 1999). 2.1.1.3 The needs of High Achievers Understanding of the gifted social and emotional needs is an essential requirement for successful teachers because they believe that not all academic angels and stellar scholars that people assume are gifted. Gifted childrens needs do not differ from others. Intellectual and personality attributes characterize gifted children and should be noted at the outset. The Strengths of gifted students is shown by the ability to retain information quickly while the possible problem is the impatient with others (August Hakuta, 1998). High achiever needs to be engaged in the class even in the implementation to the no child left behind act. 2.2.1 Less Skilled Teachers The solutions to the problem of low achievement are retaining them in grade, placing them in transition rooms, enrolling them in remedial or special education classrooms, or placing them in the bottom track. However these solutions increase low achievement and wont allow students to improve or either graduate from high schools. Low achievement students often receive a reading curriculum that is limited and indicates low expectations for their performance (Knapp Needels, 1990). Appropriate professional development and readily-available technical assistance is needed in order to become highly successful with all students since lack of professional training in dealing with diversity is being recognized and lead to poor training (Phillips Crowell, 1994). It is important that teachers have skills to help students to be more successful as mentioned by August and Hakuta (1998). Underachievement can change over time as said by Delisle and Berger (1990). the best intervention for remediation of any learning difficulty, and teachers who believe that these students can become high achievers even if the behavior did not change (Riley, 1999). Generally, having below average is noticed on children who are low achievers. (100) IQ and resist in the classroom to keep up with general academic requirements (Gresham, MacMillan Bocian, 1996). 2.3.1 Risk Factors for Low Achievement Low achievers face a lot of difficulties. Focusing on the effort of preventing learning difficulties is more important that trying to remediate them (Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, 1998). A close monitor on the progress of all children is essential in addition to the changes made to instructions. 2.3.1.1 General Risk Factors growing up in poverty with physical deficits, who attend schools with chronic school failure, whose culture varies from that of the schools, and who arrive at school speaking languages other than English are considered problems that face certain groups of gifted children. Having poor basic skills, low academic self-concepts, poor auditory memory, and less than average school attendance rates as mentioned by Delisile and Berger (1990) are characteristics of underachievers. Some children risk of dropping out of school if they live in single-parent households, have parents or siblings who did not complete high school, or are home alone more than three hours a day (Dynarski and Gleason, 1999). More than half of the Schools in Urban areas scored chronic failure. The reasons behind this is that they have young and less qualified teachers and high teacher turnover, lack resources, such as well-stocked libraries and up-to-date technology. Moreover, the connections with parents are often non-existent or aggressive and absenteeism of students is high. In addition to these reasons related to the schools system itself, there are reasons related to the students such as enroll high percentages of students who live in poverty, the majority fail to reach even the basic level on national tests (National Education Summit, 1999). 2.3.1.2 Poor skills Schools that provide effective reading instruction and reading practice causes the opportunities to learn letters and to recognize the internal structure of spoken words. Children who have normal or above language skills acquire reading skills that advance motivation and expose children to have literacy. If a child lacks any of the above factors, he has increased possibilities of delayed or impeded reading (National Research Council, 1998). On the other hand, some children lack reading readiness from home and suffer from discouragement in the classroom. There are low literacy expectations, limited resources, and differential instructional practices for these children (Riley, 1999). 2.4.1Effective Instruction Experienced and caring teachers who are able to establish close personal relationships with students, other staff members, and parents must formulate the most important competencies of a successful school. The staff and students succeed when the skills and positive atmosphere meet. It is surprising that many of the new school reform models are reverting to a teacher as factory worker mindset (French, 2000) instead of teacher as a caring expert. Good teachers overcome the obstacles that they face in order to make children stay away from failure. They improve their skills throughout their careers (Snow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998). Moreover, a successful teacher takes time into consideration. They allow more time for discussion and questions and they allow students to participate more and engage in the classes atmosphere (Breaking Ranks, 1996). If a teacher believes that each student has special capabilities and can improve their skills and achieve more, she let her students feel comfortable and encourage them and show them that she cares. 2.5 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurobehavioral disorder which is related to high or low achievement. Student who are hyperactive or irresponsible behave in a way that lead to problems. This problem is a genetic problem that creates lack of focus. Lack of concentration represent one of the symptomf of ADHD. Some students may switch from one thing to another that may cause them to forget the lesson explained even if they are high achievers. This problem allow students to move slowly and become easily confused by any distraction.

Cultural Literacy According To E.d. Hirsch :: Education Literacy Educational Essays

According to E.D. Hirsch, to be culturally literate is to possess the basic information to thrive in the modern world. It is the "grasp on the background information that writers and speakers assume their audience already has." In his book, Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, Hirsch sets forth 5,000 essential words and phrases of which each person should be knowledgeable. The list ranges from idioms to mythology, from science to fairy tales. Why has this list prompted a notable debate on our country's educational standards? E.D. Hirsch believes that the literacy of American people has been rapidly declining. The long range remedy for restoring and improving American literacy must be to "institute a policy of imparting common information in our schools." In short, according to Hirsch - the answer to our problem lies within the list. Hirsch's book explains the importance of the need of a higher level of national literacy. His main argument is that cultural literacy is required for effective communication and the "cooperation of many people..." Communication is what Hirsch sees is essential for success in today's society. Communication is the key to equality in America. With increased cultural literacy, an egalitarian society is eventually possible. One common body of knowledge for everyone will be the glue that holds society together. Hirsch also points out the senselessness of concepts such as multi-culturalism and multi-lingualism. He acknowledges the importance of the numerous cultures and ethnicities of which United States is comprised. Hirsch mentions the "hyphenated American: the Italo-American, the Polish-American, the Afro- American, the Asian-American and so forth." He points out that he is in favor of each minority's protection, nurture, and respect; however, he strongly feels that people need to decide what "Å’American' means on the other side of the hyphen...what national values and traditions really belong to national cultural literacy." American cultural literacy should be based on our traditions -- morality of tolerance and benevolence, the Golden Rule, communal cooperation, altruism and freedom. It is in this way that Hirsch argues those in opposition of cultural literacy. Many opponents question Hirsch's view by questioning who would decide this common body of knowledge for everyone. People debate what is includedin "the list" on the basis of multiculturism. They ask, is the knowledge equally important to every citizen of the United States no matter what race, gender or religion? Hirsch responds by putting the emphasis on the other side of the hyphen - the American side. When reading Hirsch's book, I strongly agreed with his big picture of cultural literacy and agree that it is important to establish a common body of knowledge

Active Euthanasia- A Kantian Perspective Essay -- essays research pape

Active Euthenasia – From A Kantian Perspective Euthanasia is one of society's more widely debated moral issues of our time. Active euthanasia is; "Doing something, such as administering a lethal drug, or using other ways that will cause a person's death." In the other hand, Passive euthanasia is; "Stopping (or not starting) a treatment, that will make a person die, the condition of the person will cause his or her death." It seems that this one is not to debate, as much as the other one (active). I have chosen to look more closely at the issue of active euthanasia, and that it should not be considered ethical, by Kantian standards. Those who support active euthanasia can argue that helping the ill to bring their own deaths, allowing them to determine the how and when, is not only a human act but also allows the person, who is "living to die," to maintain their dignity; this way, they will let them die in peace, rather than suffer to the end. Because if not, they think of themselves as a disgrace, to those they love. According to recent researches and surveys, many Canadians would agree to this, but my question is, have they taken a close look at the ethical debate? Those who are against active euthanasia would say not, and would argue that by participating in the practice of active euthanasia, they are "playing God," or perhaps, that they are not acting out of mercy, therefore, the act is nothing less than cold-blooded murder. Murder by the law is defined as; "The unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another." Euthanasia, in Canada, remains unlawful as of today, and the act of euthanasia is premeditated, whether for the purpose of mercy or not, euthanasia is, by definition, murder. According to Kantian perspective established by Kant the philosopher, and the Holy Bible, murder is both a sin and a crime, therefore we ought not participate in the practice of euthanasia, because it is murder, and it is the wrong thing to do. The euthanasia debate raises many questions. Questions such as: who is the one benefited by the murder? Or should we allow family members to make a life-or-death decision over a loved one who may never have expressed a desire to die, simply because they could not say with words a will to live? If a person should be suffering with an illness of which there seems no hope of r... ...sidered as ethical because it totally violates the will, the freedom of choice, and also the values of the ill person. Barbara McKinnon, "Euthanasia," Ethics Theory and Contemporary Issues, second edition, p.126, 1998 Barbara McKinnon, "Euthanasia," Ethics Theory and Contemporary Issues, second edition, p.126, 1998 http://charlacon.infosel.com/000165/lomejor.htm TTI Market Explorers, Poll of 603 Adults in British Colombia, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition, 1997 Clarendon Press, "Concise Oxford Dictionary", p. 895, 1995 . http://www.sagrado.edu/personal/lazaro/jlazaro.html Pieter Admiraal, "Euthanasia in the Netherlands - A Dutch Doctor's Perspective," (speech presented at the national convention of the Hemlock Society, Arlington VA, 1986) http://www.vrweb.cl/mf/wwwboard/messages3/1131.html Brown, Henteleff, Barakat and Rowe, "Is It Normal for Terminally Ill Patients to Desire Death?," American Journal of Psychiatry, Flora Johnson Skelly, "Don't Miss Depression, Physicians say," American Medical News, p. 28, 1992 Dahlgren, "Suicide and Life Threatening Behaviour," Attempted Suicides 35 Years Afterward, 1977

Radhakrishnans Thought and Existentialism :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Radhakrishnan's Thought and Existentialism ABSTRACT: I attempt to show the similarities between the viewpoints of Radhakrishnan and the existentialist thinkers. The philosophy of Radhakrishnan is an attempt to reinterpret and reconstruct the Advaita Vedanta of Sankara in the light of scientific knowledge and techniques of modern time. Existentialism is an attitude and outlook that emphasizes human existence. For Radhakrishnan, the human is essentially subject, not object. The existentialists assert that the human is not an object to be known, but a subject. Both Radhakrishnan and the existentialists emphasize the immense potential and present day condition of humanity. Radhakrishnan acknowledges the reality of suffering and misery of worldly existence. The existentialists maintain that there are antinomies, contradictions and distress at the root of existence. Radhakrishnan is concerned with liberation as a state of freedom. Freedom is the central concept around which the existential enquiry revolves. Though Radhakrishnan has certain affinities with existentialism, he regards it as a stage in the human's pilgrimage through life. The philosophy of Radhakrishnan is an attempt to reinterpret and reconstruct the Advaita Vedanta of Sankara in the light of scientific knowledge and technique of modern time. The philosophy of Advaita follows the basic tenets of the Upanishadic philosophy. Radhakrishnan does not propound any system of philosophy. He is bound to tradition like his contemporaries. But, his philosophy is distinct from others by some of its peculiar features. It is based on his own experiences and reflections. Existentialism is an attitude and outlook that emphasizes human existence. 'Existence precedes essence'-this is the maxim of existentialism. Existentialism deals with the problems the individual has to face in life, with the ways how he faces them, with his feelings and emotions and above all, with his outlook on life and experience. It recognises freedom and responsibility of the individual man. Soren Kirkegaard is regarded as the father of 'Existentialism'. He starts discussion on it. It is further developed in the hands of subsequent thinkers like Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel, Martin Heidegger and Jean Paul Sartre. It must be admitted that there are divergent interests and points of view within existentialism. There are certain affinities between the viewpoints of Rahdakrishnan and the existentialist thinkers. Indian thought, in general; investigates into the self. Radhakrishnan also maintains that "In India, 'Atmanam Viddhi,' know the self, sums up the law and the prophets." (1) We do hear in this 'Atmanam Viddhi' the voice of existentialism. The two great propositions of the Upanishads are ' Tattvamasi' (Thou art that) and 'Aham Brahmasmi' (I am Brahman).

Compare the ways in which crime is presented in Moll Flanders and Roxana?

The eponymous titles Roxana and Moll Flanders, are two of a collection of novels written by Daniel Defoe. Coleridge described these novels as one of ‘the few great novels, which we can call indisputably great'1. This ‘greatness' that Coleridge speaks of is displayed through the way Defoe presents crime in these novels. He explores the lives of women in the early 18th century and how crime was often a woman's key to survival. The novels are set and centred in different locations in the world of the 1720's. The geographical settings and mobility of the characters expresses their personal ambition to be known, respected and to have the finer things in life. First and foremost, before looking into the criminal lives Moll Flanders and Roxana both led, their reasons for engaging into crime have to be considered. Moll was born into poverty, and ironically she was ‘born into a jail cell' in Newgate prison. From this it seems as though Moll was born a criminal and a criminal career was destined for her. She is a street educated woman that thrived upon crime to escape the jagged teeth of poverty and also to live a lavish life. On the contrary Roxana is a well-educated and well-bred woman, however her life of crime begins when she is abandoned by her husband, who has also left her with a handful of children to care for. With the encouragement from her accomplice Amy, can it be argued that Roxana turns from a virtuous woman to an immoral whore? Well, firstly Roxana does sleep with numerous men, without marrying them, which was immoral in an 18th century society and Roxana's sexual behaviour may have been labelled as whoring, because she slept with men and receives payments in the form of fine clothes and ornaments and expensive jewellery. However Roxana does fall in love with every man she sleeps with, so she shouldn't be really referred as a whore. For example in the novel, Roxana admits she fell in love with her landlord ‘I grew to love him'; Roxana loves her landlord besides the comfortable lifestyle she lives. Roxana does commit adultery to an extent, her act as been described as a state of ‘innocent adultery'2: their liaison is as respectable as any marriage, supported as it is by affection and respect, and even by legal settlement. In an contemporary society Roxana's act wouldn't be describe as whoring or prostitution, and adultery wouldn't be a crime in the ‘eyes' of the English law. Also whoring or prostitution is based upon a direct exchange of money for sexual pleasure, no emotions, liking, or loving or relationships are supposed to be formed, whereas Roxana falls in love. Defoe sympathizes with woman in these times, as they were powerless in terms of marriage. Women were condemned if they had children, without being married and more to the point women were neglected and not protected by the government. Therefore it can be argued that women were more likely to engage in criminal activities as a way of escaping poverty, and to an extent improve their quality of living. However women were less likely to commit crime as there movements were isolated especially if they were married they were the property of their husbands they were to do domestic duties and had little time to explore the outdoors. However Moll and Roxana do not have these constraints. It could be inferred Defoe aims to make his two protagonists heroic figures as they manage to succeed against the odds, they're renegades that reject the norms and values of society and do not conform with stereotypical female roles, such as domestic duties, instead they distance themselves from the morals of society and beautify their lives by either using men or stealing valuable objects to fulfil their needs. The novels are written in an autobiographical format, where the protagonist gives a chronological sequence of events in their life. This presentation is highly effective; firstly it is continuous throughout both novels, more importantly a contemporary reader can easily engage with the novels as the lives of Roxana and Moll are often presented like a soap opera. In Roxana the protagonist notices her first husband in a dinner party she tries her best to conceal herself. If she were caught she would have faced public humiliation or possibly death- ‘He had just brushed against me, but didn't notice me'. The close encounter causes tension and the word ‘brush' expresses the danger of the situation. Roxana is an adulteress as; she is sexually involved with the Prince of France while still being legally married. In Moll Flanders, Moll steals a lady's gold watch, Moll is almost caught but she is not suspected of taking the watch. These soap opera like episodes create intimacy between the protagonist and the reader and they have a continuing appeal to a contemporary reader, as they cause excitement, tension and suspense, this again may support Coleridge's statement that these novels are ‘indisputably great'. In both novels, ‘Roxana and Moll Flanders look back on their life of sinfulness and opportunism. It is a life that they must both embrace; it is made them who they are'. However Defoe does make his presences felt in the novels where he expresses his own views towards issues such as marriage; Defoe used the term ‘Matrimonial Whoredom'3 to describe women who married men only for financial gain. From this we are given an insight of the character of Defoe through his protagonists. It can be argued that temptation is without a doubt the reason for Moll and Roxana indulging in crime. There temptations are centred on economic needs and a craving for social status. For example Roxana, with Amy's influence prostitutes herself to her landlord. In the novel Amy says to Roxana in one occasion ‘Dear madam says Amy if I will starve for your sake, I will be a whore'. Here the language is persuasive as Amy's use of reverse psychology persuades and makes Roxana feel guilty. Roxana is clearly tempted because if she gives up her chastity she could restore the comfortable life she once lived. Although Roxana eventually gives in, she still appears to have a little self-respect; this is evident where she says ‘A woman ought rather to die, than to prostitute herself' the tone of language is very bold and convincing that it may contradict my initial argument that Roxana is an immoral whore. However Roxana opposes her own statement as she lets temptation get the better of her. On the other hand Moll excuses herself for her crimes: ‘The silver tankard calls out to her'. A silver tankard would be a large drinking vessel made out of what would have been expensive metal, silver. Metaphorically it expresses pleasure and wealth, the ‘silver tankard' is a vivid use of pathetic fallacy, and it is as though the silver tankard is a person that tempted Moll to committing crimes in order to live well. Moll admits she became ‘more confounded with money', which could give an early indication that her love for money would ultimately lead her to her desperation and further temptations to commit crimes. This in fact is what happens to Moll, in one part of the novel she is in the position where she is so desperate, she contemplates killing a child, This is a turning point as Defoe reveals a dark side of Moll , the reader sees Moll in previous encounters as a thief and whore but contemplating murder shocks the modern day reader. Episodes such as this are intriguing and have continuing appeal because not only does Moll reveal a dark side the reader can easily sympathies with the villain rather than the victim, the phrase ‘the dreadful necessity of circumstances is the cause', express this, the word ‘dreadful' is emotive as the reader pity's Moll's well being, The ‘circumstances' Moll speaks of, are due to many factors such as the absences of any parental figures for example, since her mother is a criminal, the reader may not be surprised that Moll takes a criminal path for her career. In sociological terms a poor level of cultural reproduction, could explain why Moll follows her mothers footsteps. Crime is presented with the association of the devil's works. Firstly it has to be considered that crime in the 18th century was often seen either as the work or the influence of the devil, considering at this period people tended to be very superstitious. In Moll Flanders, Moll believes the crimes she commits are caused by the devil- ‘She had enough to work on but the devil sends her out unto the streets'. This use of imagery is effective because Moll personifies the devil as a person who forcefully dragged her onto the street to steal. Moll also refers to herself as a ‘busy devil'. The language used here is unusual as the word busy often refers to hard work or a dedication to work, whereas the word devil contradicts the word busy, as the devil is associated with evil or negative works, which causes an overall effect of irony. In Roxana, Roxana prostitutes Amy to her landlord; after Roxana realizes that what she did was immoral and indeed a sin she says she is the ‘instrument of the devil's works'. This has a continuing appeal because the reader shocked that Roxana, supposedly a woman of virtue forces Amy, her closest friend, and ‘pimps' her to her landlord. It questionable whether Roxana has an ounce of integrity in left her. Although she admits she was the instrument of the ‘devils works' one still has to be amazed at what people will do just to fulfil their own selfish needs. This is similar in Volpone by Ben Jonson, where the character of Corvino forgets all virtue and decided to pimp his own wife. However can it be argued that Moll and Roxana use notion of the ‘devil' as a way to elevate the blame that they feel is already upon them. Also the actual meaning of the devil has to put into consideration. In the period in which Defoe lived, the devil was often described as a hideous creature with horns and jagged teeth. However in the novels Roxana and Moll Flanders, could the devil represent the poverty that eats away in their society, which ultimately leads them to committing crime? Social pressures and personal circumstances is another way crime is presented. Defoe presents his whores as ordinary people who are normal products of their environment, victims of circumstances which anyone might have experienced. For Roxana the absences of her husband, who left her with the responsibility of caring for five children, leaves Roxana in a difficult situation, so whoring herself at first to her landlord seemed to be the only option for survival as she was on the verge of absolute poverty. In the early stages of the novel Amy presents a strong argument to Roxana. Roxana begins by saying to Amy ‘What consent to lye with him for bread? ‘ Amy replies ‘It would not be lawful for anything else but for bread, Madam, why nobody can starve'. The word ‘lawful' is interesting it may suggest that Roxana somehow has the right to sell her own body in order to survive, or maybe Amy is being ironic as prostitition was against the law. Again Amy's persuasive use of language leaves Roxana, completely convinced – ‘If he should give me an estate to live on, he should lye with me. Roxana thinks about the situation logically and rationally and decides to give up her chastity. It is upsetting that for woman in these times their, bodies were almost the only thing they could offer to a man in return for a stable standard of living, so one has to sympathies with Roxana due to the difficult situation she is in. The reader shouldn't look at her negatively especially when individuals such as Amy point out to her ‘why nobody can starve'. However the reader may view Roxana negatively in certain parts of the novel. For example after the brutal death of her lover, her landlord, Roxana attempts to sell the jewels that he had left with her, one has to question her integrity, but it shows the lengths that people would go to maintain the material goods they possess. Although Roxana is an intelligent woman, and arguably she was more than capable to improve her lifestyle by using legal means, Defoe expresses that women were at a disadvantage in terms of earning a decent living; Moll Flanders quotes ‘The market is against our sex'. Here Defoe expresses his feelings through Moll Flanders, as he was interested in women's oppression, as he believed that women were oppressed, especially in marriage. Roxana refuses to marry the Dutch Merchant on various occasions, as she believed women were at a disadvantage as marriage was more of a patriarchal institution. Like Roxana, Moll Flanders is a victim of society and circumstantial issue. Moll was born into poverty. From an early age, Moll is socially aware of her low status but she refers to herself as a ‘Gentlewoman', which expresses her ambitions to have the fine things in life and to be accepted by society. Here it could be argued that Moll wants the desired social status that Roxana also achieves. Moll Flanders, like Rastigmac and Julien Soreal, is a characteristic product of modern individualism in assuming that she owes it to herself to achieve the highest economic and social rewards and in using every available method to carry out her resolve. Even Moll admits that ‘the dreadful necessity of circumstances is cause', referring to the poverty she lives in is the cause of her thieving; Moll says in her defense ‘ give me poverty lest I steal'. In one occasion Moll begins sewing lace for a particular wealthy woman, however Moll is still relatively poor. The rich woman has two brothers that Moll acquaints herself with; she prostitutes herself to two of them. They both spoil her excessively with fine clothes and ornaments, she says in one occasion; ‘He had furnished me very sufficiently with money for extraordinary express of my lying in I had everything'. One may look down upon Moll as a whore, however ones has to consider she is not educated like Roxana and her ambition to be a ‘gentlewoman' is still at large, so it is either she took this opportunity or not, but Moll admits ‘she had enough to live on' however she still has the urge to commit crimes. To Moll's horror she commits another crime, she later finds out that the two brothers she sleeps with are too her own brothers. This has a continuing appeal to a modern day reader because it I hilarious that Moll prostitutes herself to two brothers who actually are her brothers it is a bizarre experience for Moll. It is engaging for a modern day reader, as incest tends to occur when both relations are aware they are related, whereas Moll isn't aware. Moll indulges in crime not just for survival but to have the fine clothes and ornaments. Moll says ‘ I needed to dress well in order to mingle'. Defoe makes it evident in both novels that society was beginning to be more capitalist, so as times changed Roxana and Moll, too had to modernize in order to be respected and accepted by society. Moll's fine clothes and ornaments and Roxana's expensive Turkish dress are symbolise of the pressure in society to live lavishly. However both Roxana and Moll reasons for indulging in crime are not strong sociological arguments, such as we might make today: they don't ask themselves why a certain percentage of the population is destitute, they just want to make sure they are not one of them. However their determination not to be destitute shows their survival instincts. Also Defoe shows the emergence of an individualistic society where people began to develop their own norms and values and tended not to look at traditional institutions such as the church for guidance and rather they'd take matters into their own hands. The relationship between crime and identity has to be explored. For example Moll is a common slang term in these times for a woman of low repute, often the girlfriend of a professional thief, ‘Flanders' was a term to describe women in prostitution. Roaxna Turkish dress reveals her criminal identity as a courtesan. It interesting as their names are clear indications of their true identities and purposes but none of the characters realize this. In Roxana where Roxana leaves her lavish life momentarily, she takes up Quaker dressing. This way of dressing is a drastic change from her lavish gorgeous dresses, which emphasis the change from her high life and erotic encounters to a simple way of living. Roxana and Moll Flanders hide away behind their names and costumes to protect their identity, their hidden identities explain that they are afraid and do not want to face up to who they and they're afraid of how people will react to them like the character Robinson Crusoe. Defoe creates characters similar to how he felt about himself as he even changed his name from Foe to Defoe, which suggests that Defoe feels the struggle and can sympathise with what his protagonists go through.

Obstacles in Mao’s Last Dancer Essay

In Mao’s Last Dancer we are introduced to the obstacles faced daily by a Chinese boy and his family, living in poverty. In Meltdown by Ben Elton, we are introduced to obstacles faced daily by Jimmy Corby. Obstacles we can all relate to in the modern world. This is why I think we should study Meltdown by Ben Elton as well as Mao’s Last Dancer as a core text in the Overcoming Obstacles unit. Meltdown is about City Trader Jimmy Corby. Jimmy was living the life being rich, pampered and spoilt. That is until it all comes crashing down and the Global Financial Crisis hits. He discovers that anyone can handle success, it’s how you handle failure that really matters. We can all relate to these obstacles and the themes of the story. Some themes of the story are money, loss, family and success. All of these themes are somehow incorporated in our life. We all care about money and work for it, we all experience some form of loss during our lives, we all have family who we love and care about and we all hope to be successful in the future. This makes it the perfect book for us to study as a core text. Another reason why we should study this book in the Overcoming Obstacles unit, is we join Jimmy on the journey of overcoming these obstacles. We see how he deals with loss, how he copes with family life, and how he handles failure. Elton, the author of the book, uses various techniques to convey how he overcomes all these obstacles. He uses humour to give us a funny insight on the daily problems. Humour also makes us, as the reader, enjoy the book even more. Lastly, I believe we should study this book as it opens our eyes to real life problems that we all could face in a few years. The Global Financial Crisis is real for all of us. I think that Meltdown is highly appropriate for us to study as it is based around daily struggles faced every day. The main audience of the text are teenagers and young adults making it the perfect book for us. The purpose of the book is to make us realise that there are more important things in life than money. We have to enjoy what we have and not dwell on what we don’t. This is an important message for all of us in life. In Mao’s Last Dancer we focus on the obstacles faced by a Chinese boy living in poverty who is given the chance to make life better for himself and his family. He faces struggles daily and is taught to overcome them. He deals with being alone, a long way from home and his own mental health. We don’t understand these obstacles as much as someone living in poverty would, seeing as we aren’t living in poverty. But then again, someone living in poverty wouldn’t understand the struggles we face daily. Also, by studying Meltdown by Ben Elton as well as Mao’s Last Dancer, We are given two inputs of struggles in the world. We are taught the obstacles faced by someone living in poverty who doesn’t have much money and then is given the opportunity of a lifetime which could give him everything. But then we are also taught the obstacles faced by a man who has money, a house, a healthy family and enough food, but nearly loses it all. We are given two aspects on life. Meltdown is the perfect book for us to study as the obstacles featured in the book are all known to us, we can see and learn how we could possible overcome these obstacles and by studying it along with Mao’s Last Dancer we are given two inputs on life.

Sentence Coherence

Coherence means the quality of sticking together. a sentence has coherence when the sentence elements are so arranged as to show their relationship. Clarity in the sentence depends largely on proper word order A. Achieving coherence through proper placement of modifiers A modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that describes, strengthens, or clarifies another word (or group of words) in a sentence. When a modifier is placed in its proper position in a sentence, a sense of clarity is established for the reader. Example: Confusion: He barely kicked that ball twenty yards. Repair Work: He kicked that ball barely twenty yards. The issue of the proper placement of â€Å"only† has long been argued among grammarians. Many careful writers will insist that â€Å"only† be placed immediately before the word or phrase it modifies. Thus â€Å"I only gave him three dollars† would be rewritten as â€Å"I gave him only three dollars. † Some grammarians, however, have argued that such precision is not really necessary, that there is no danger of misreading â€Å"I only gave him three dollars† and that â€Å"only† can safely and naturally be placed between the subject and the verb. The argument has been going on for two hundred years. Other examples: (boardwork) 1. Mother loves the bungalow which she inherited from her grandfather. (Spanish- style, maternal) 2. The bride walked down the aisle on the arm of her father. (slowly) A. 1. Avoiding Misplaced modifiers Misplaced modifiers-a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it modifies How to correct a misplaced modifier: Place the modifier close to the word it modifies Error: I brought the dress from that store that I really wanted. Correction: I brought the dress that I really wanted from that store. A. 2. Avoiding Squinting Modifiers Squinting Modifiers -a phrase or clause that seems to modify two words at a time Example: Students who miss classes frequently fail the course. We can't tell which part of the sentence the word frequently is supposed to modify. Look at these two possible meanings: Students who miss class frequently or frequently fail the course. Correct a squinting modifier error by repositioning the modifier to place it next to the word it modifies. Example 2: Cycling up hills quickly strengthens your quadriceps. (In this example, the word â€Å"quickly† is a squinting modifier. It is not clear whether â€Å"quickly† pertains to â€Å"Cycling up hills† or â€Å"strengthens†. B. Achieving coherence by Avoiding Dangling Modifiers Dangling modifiers- It is a phrase or clause that is not clearly and logically related to the word or words it modifies How to correct a Dangling Modifier 1. Change the main clause of the sentence so that it begins with the word actually modified E xample 1. Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, the car seemed to run better. Correction: Changing the oil every 3,000 miles, Fred found he could get much better gas mileage. Example 2: To keep the young recruits interested in getting in shape, an exercise program was set up for the summer months. Correction:To keep the young recruits interested in getting in shape, the coaching staff set up an exercise program for the summer months. 2. Change the dangling modifier phrase to a subordinate clause, creating a subject and a verb Example 1: Raised in Nova Scotia, it is natural to miss the smell of the sea. Correction For a person raised in Nova Scotia, it is natural to miss the smell of the sea. The introductory phrase in the above sentence looks as if it is meant to modify a person or persons, but no one is mentioned in the sentence. Such introductory adjective phrases, because of their position, automatically modify the first noun or pronoun that follows the phrase — in this case, â€Å"it. † The connection in this case is illogical because â€Å"it† was not raised in Nova Scotia. You could revise the sentence in a number of ways: In correction: (the phrase functions as an adjective but now automatically modifies â€Å"I,† a logical connection) Example 2: Although nearly finished, we left the play early because we were worried about our sick cat. Correction: Although the play was nearly finished, we left early because we were worried about our sick cat. A dangling modifier can also appear when you place an elliptical clause improperly: Although nearly finished, we left the play early because we were worried about our sick cat. The way this sentence is structured, the clause â€Å"Although nearly finished† illogically modifies â€Å"we,† the pronoun directly following the clause. An easy way to rectify the problem is to re-insert the subject and verb that are understood in the elliptical clause: Although the play was nearly finished, we left early because we were worried about our sick cat. C. Achieving Coherence by Clear Reference of pronouns A pronoun refers to or replaces a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun already mentioned. The word the pronoun replaces is known as the pronoun's antecedent. A pronoun should always refer to a clear and definite antecedent. C. 1. Wrong reference Make sure that a pronoun refers to a specific noun, not a possessive noun or a noun within a prepositional phrase. | Faulty | In George Orwell's essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant, † he reports an incident that shows the evil effects of imperialism. [The pronoun he cannot refer to the possessive noun Orwell's. ] | Revised | In his essay â€Å"Shooting an Elephant,† George Orwell reports an incident that shows the evil effects of imperialism. [The possessive pronoun his can refer to the subject noun Orwell. ]| Avoid using a pronoun such as they or it without an explicit antecedent. | Faulty | When Rivera applied for a resident alien card, they put him through many bureaucratic procedures. [The sentence does not have a clear antecedent for the pronoun they. ] | | Revised | When Rivera applied for a resident alien card, government officials put him through many manybureaucratic procedures. Before government officials issued Rivera a resident alien card, they put him through many bureaucratic procedures. | C. 2 Ambiguous References Your readers should never be left wondering which this, they, or it is being discussed. Faulty | My husband told my father that he should choose the baby's name. [Does he refer to husband or to father ? ] | Revised | My husband told my father to choose the baby's name. My husband wanted to choose the baby's name and told my father so. | Example 2:Ted told Hanz that he was hungry. Ted told Hanz that the former was hungry or Ted told Hanz, † I am hungry. † Example 3: Sylvia told her mother, â€Å"I need a new wardrobe. † Sylvia told her mother that she needed a new wardrobe C. 3. No Reference Examples 1. When we went to the motor vehicle division to register our car, they kept us waiting for nearly an hour. Correction: When we went to the motor vehicle division to register our car, the clerk kept us waiting for nearly an hour. 2. Elizabeth's mother and father are both pilots; however, Elizabeth is not interested in it. Correction: Elizabeth's mother and father are both pilots; however, Elizabeth is not interested in flying. 3. It says in the recipe that one must use butter, not margarine. Correction: According to the recipe, one must use butter, not margarine. 4. We prefer the kind of gas stations where hot food is sold. Correction: We prefer the kind of gas stations where they sell hot food. 5, Tammy applied for a scholarship, but her advisor told her that her parents make too much money. Correction: Tammy applied for a scholarship, but they told her that her parents made too much money.