Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Competition is becoming more and more fierce while the market is becoming globalization. With higher consumer sovereignty, customers are no longer satisfied with qualify products and good services. The society concerned more about the business ethic and environmental issues. Companies are expected to act virtuously nowadays. The ideas of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Citizenship are spreading faster than ever before and become one of the hottest business models in the recent decades. â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)† is defined as â€Å"the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life† at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in 2000. The main idea of CSR is that corporations should be responsible to the stakeholders which include the customers, shareholders, suppliers, employees or any other party that may be influenced by the corporate actions. Different organizations may have formed different social responsible programs which can be categorized in four major components: the environment, the community, the work place and the market place. Different companies will emphasize on different aspects to create the social responsible programs. â€Å"Particular CSR initiatives may do good, or harm, or make no difference one way or the other, but it is important to resist the success of the CSR idea. â€Å" (Briggs & Verma, 2006) Mounting evidences show the benefits brought by the CSR Programs. For example, corporations made huge donation to disasters nationwide and to the bottom billions. However, not every CSR Program can be built up successfully. Nestlà © had suffered from a boycott last over 30 years which is the result from its failed CSR Program. Known as the baby killer, Nestlà © is blamed to kill thousands of Babies in the less developed region. They promoted and distributed free instant formula milk powder to replace breastfeeding and led to severe health problems or even death to the babies (Sethi, 1979). The two opposite results of CSR programs bring up queries for CSR programs. Is there a business case for CSR? How can corporations be benefitted from CSR? Theses questions will be discussed in this essay and so as the answers. B. Is there a business case for CSR? â€Å"Corporations are expected to be good citizens† asserted by Briggs and Verma (2006). Customers are demanding more from the corporations. Responsible corporates are required to meet the â€Å"Triple Bottom Lines† which are the economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability. Join Elington illustrate the interrelationship of the triple bottom line in 1997, â€Å"Society depends on the economy – and the economy depends on the global ecosystem, whose health represents the ultimate bottom line† (Elkington, 1997). CSR programs can also help the company to achieve sustainable growth which is the ultimate goal for every CSR program. Sustainable development is development to satisfy the needs of present generation without sacrificing the ability of future generations to development (WCED, 1987). Study indicates that sustainable growth and business success cannot be achieved solely by maximising short-term profits, but instead th rough market-oriented and social responsible programs (Neal, 2006). The CSR programs may engage with the following four aspects: the environment, the community, the workplace and the market place (World Business Council, 2000). As the foundation of every human being in the earth, responsible to environment is an essential part of CSR programs. Learnt from the Industrial Revolution when people sacrifice environment for business growth, private organizations today have worked to improve the environment. For example, Toyota has developed the hybrid card models which can use both fuel and electricity as power source. It can help to reduce the air pollution and reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This innovation is also being considered as long-term oriented and sustainable for future development so both the customers and investors are satisfied with it. The second aspect of corporate social responsibility is the community. Corporations have to be responsibility to the local community as they are the essential for the business success. Social responsible firms should hire local labour force in the work place. Corporations often make donation after huge disasters such as earthquake or hurricane. For example, companies had donated over US$547 millions after the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (Briggs & Verma, 2006). Although some criticize that the corporations are making disasters into opportunities for public relationship, the donation can certainly help the community to rebuilt their home afterward, The third aspect of corporate social responsibility is the workplace. Companies are responsible to ensure the safety and ethnic in the workplace. The employees are generating the profit so the companies should be responsible to them by creating harmless and harmony working environment. For example, Nike, and other American and European sports wear production companies, promise to monitor the working conditions in its supplier factories in less developed countries (Vogel, 2005, 1). Corporations should also be responsible to the market place. Not just manufacturing quality product but also meeting the needs of various customers. For example, although smart phones are becoming popular in recent years, some people with visual disability may not able to use those products without assistant from other people. By introducing the Voiceover application, customers with visual disability can use the smart phone or other devices created by Apple easily. Besides the positive point of view, there have always been criticisms of CSR ever since it was invented. In 1970, the Nobel Price winner, Friedman wrote â€Å"The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase its Profits† and the three main arguments he stated in his article have become the foundation for the criticisms against CSR. In his first argument, Friedman claimed that only human beings have a moral responsibility for their actions (Friedman, 1970). As a collected entity, companies do not have the responsibility of the decision made by the management. However, corporations act like human in many ways. For examples, in legal terms, corporations are consisted as an artificial person whose behavior is decided by the corporate internal decision structure and the organizational culture. Many corporations are acting progressively to create a public perception of good citizenship to gain positive image and competitive advantages from the society (Brigs and Verma, 2006). In the following article, Friedman pointed out that the government, instead of the private business section, should be responsible to solve the social issues and problems (Friedman, 1970). Later scholars support his argument that with huge amount of tax collected by the government, the responsibility of social support should be transferred to the government and the public sectors. However, in some cases, government may not be able to take the responsibility due to insufficient funds or malfunction of government agent. Geoge Kell, executive head of the United Nations’s Global Compact Office, indicated that â€Å"So long as government fail to do their part and so long as business goes global, CSR helps fill an important void† (Brigs and Verma, 2006). The last argument of Friedman is that the managers should be responsible for the interest of shareholders (Friedman, 1970). Charring out CSR programs may increase the cost and weaken the company’s performance. In which way, the interests of the shareholders are harmed (Henderson, 2001). This argument is proven wrong by the countless successful business cases of CSR programs. C. How can corporations be benefited from the CSR programs? 1. CSR can help the corporates to increase the profits. Corporations can be benefited from the CSR programs in many aspects. Since the most important goal for the company is maximise its profit, scholars and managers are working to figure out how CSR programs will influence the company’s profitability. Companies generally increase their profitability by two means: Cut cost and Differentiation (Porter, 1985). An effective CSR Programs can help the corporations to achieve both points. Cost reduction can be achieved by CSR Programs directly or indirectly. The direct way is to reduce the cost by using the raw material or energy in a more efficient way. For example, by reducing the packaging, companies can cut the unit cost of product and protect the environment by producing less waste at the same time (Welford, 2000). The other way is to reducing the indirect cost such as the employee training cost, the management cost. For example, the employee caring programs can lower the employee turnover rate and reducing the hiring and training cost for new employees. By this mean, the employees are more satisfied to the companies and will be less likely to resign and have better performance in the workplace. Google has been paid attention to this issue. The company created the â€Å"best† working environment in the world and create the most satisfied. The CSR program successes in increasing ability to attract and retain employees and reducing operating cost. Another way to increase profitability is differentiation. By using differentiation strategy, the products can be outstanding among the competitors (Welford, 2000). Corporates have been using CSR programs as differentiation points long ago and achieve positive result. Take the Body Shop as an example. They differentiate their products from the other skin care products by using all natural ingredients and making statements such as â€Å"no animal test† and â€Å"support community fair trade†. By building such social and environmental responsibility image, the Body Shop successfully build up its brand image and reputation and create the customer loyalty. 2. CSR can enhance brand competitiveness. Today’s companies can no longer afford to ignore CSR. More and more corporates build up their own CSR programs to enhance their brand competitiveness by enhancing the image and reputation of the corporates. Firstly, customers nowadays focus more on the image and reputation of the brands. They demand more than quality product and nice services. According to the research conducted by the PR firm Hill & Knowlton, 79% of Americans take corporate citizenship into account when makings purchase decision (Briggs and Verma, 2006). Corporate Social Responsibility Programs can help the corporate to gain the public trust and support which will enhance the brand competitiveness. Customer sovereignty has further supported the ideas that with high degree of freedom and information, customers can make their choices among different brands. The brand with better image or reputation will be more likely to win in the industry. Secondly, Corporate Citizenship is demanded by the government. Especially for some sensitive business that companies need to maintain nice relationship with the government. For example, Casino Industry in Las Vegas and Macao are expected to make large donation to the â€Å"responsible gambling program† or the charity funds. By making public donation, the firms may be able to build up better image to reduce the resist in the society and the government. Managers continually encounter demands from multiple stakeholder groups to devote resources to corporate social responsibility (McWilliams & Siegel, 2001). Investors consider more about the social responsibility of the invested firms nowadays. Companies cannot managing their impact on society and the environment if engaging in CSR (Brigs & Verma, 2006) D. Conclusion Corporate Social Responsibility is becoming the trend of social public relationship strategies in the recent decades. In this essay, questions of CSR programs have been discussed in many aspects. With thousands of successful cases of corporate citizenship, companies all working hard to catch up with the trend and develop their own CSR programs. Although there are criticisms about the intention and the necessity of corporate social responsibility programs, the effective of CSR programs is ascertained. Later study shows that successful CSR program can benefit the society and the company at the same time. The corporations can enjoy higher profits and better brand competitiveness by setting up CSR programs. Therefore, companies should work with the community to achieve the â€Å"win-win† situation. Bibliography: Briggs, W. & Verma, A. 2006. ‘Sharing the wealth’. Communication world. January – February 2006. pp. 25-28 Freeman, R.E. 1984 ‘Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach’. Marshfield, MA: Pitman Publishing Inc. Friedman, M. 1970 ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits’. The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970 Henderson, D. 2001. ‘The Case Against â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Policy Vol.17 no.2. pp. 28-32. Winter 2001 Neal, A. C. 2007. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: Governance Gain or Laissez-Faire Figleaf?’. HeinOnline. 2007-2008. pp. 460-474 Robison, M. 2002. ‘RSA Wold Leaders Lecture – Beyond Good Intentions: Corporate Citizenship for a New Century’. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. London, 7 May 2002. Sethi, S. P. 1979. ‘A Conceptual Framework for Environmental Analysis of Social Issues and Evaluation of Busin ess Response Patterns’. The Acdemy of Management Review, Vol.4, No. 1, pp. 63-74 Vogle, D. ‘The Market for Virtue: the Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility’. 2005. Harrisonburg, Virginia WCED. 1987. ‘Our Common Future, World Commission on Environment and Development’. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Welford, R. 2000 ‘Corporate environmental management 3: Towards sustainable development’, London: Earthscan.

Cadburys Business Assignment Essay

The business that I have chosen to is Cadburys I have chosen to use the product will it is a well knows product that many people know and love, I have chosen this product because it has a very wide range of target audience and Cadburys is a well known business so information will be easy to access and to gather. The nature of the business is simple it is to provide sugary treats to the public the main target audience I would say would be children I would say from the ages of 4 onwards, the customers would be every one that likes chocolate they have a wide range of products such a cream egg this would appeal more to children than adults I would say as they adverts and the angle of the marketing addresses to children’s humour and to the nature of the commercial side of the business were as the product such a a dairy milk bar would appeal to a wider range of people such as adults as its simple and has very little child like qualities. The business brings out new products quite of ten so this would build on the companies reputation and would also help its sales figures as new products appeal to the customers curious nature as if a new product comes out that is advertised well, will make you want to try it and see what it is like, as Cadburys have a wide range of products there is pretty much a product for every one so the target audience is vast. Because of its large product range it will have more customers and because it has been around a long time this would mean that allot of people would have known about it and there for the audience and the people that buy the product will be greater than new businesses or newer businesses such as galaxy. The business Cadburys has existed since 1842 this shows the public that the business is a reliable and trust worthy business and obviously has a good range of products. Cadburys was founded almost 200 years ago and was opened by john Cadburys on bull street in Birmingham in 1824, he started of by making drinking chocolate then expanded by making chocolate and other products. Cadburys is a plc so it is a private limited company so this means it has public shares so the public would be involved in the business. The business is not based anywhere anymore but has business every were and this would make it a world wide company. The main competitors would be businesses such as galaxy and nesquik and other chocolate and sweat manufactures. My companies corporate aims would be to be able to make a healthy profit and be able to keep the business running at a high standard. The objectives of the business would be to be making lots of good quality chocolate and to be always be improving the quality of the chocolate and the recipes, other objectives would be to make their business fully fair trade as this would help the reputation of the business. Another objective would be to expand the business to have lots of stores world wide to increase the popularity of the business, doing this the business would need to make sure that they will be able to survive the market and make it an on going business. To create chocolate that appeals to all ages of the audience they do this by making sure that all of their ingredients are all at a high quality standard this includes fair trade products this would make their products more appealable to their target audience. Due to the nature of the business i think that they should cover some of the gaps such as creating more new products and possibly placing more Cadburys shop around the less populated areas around the country. I also feel as if Cadburys aims and objective are to do with the cream egg are easy and do able and make them accessible to smaller areas and smaller businesses such as corner shops. I have chosen Cadburys Cream Egg for my product that I am researching throughout my assignments, I have chosen this product as it is a noticed and a very well known brand and this product has been out for a while so there would be information to follow up on and to research about, this will be helpful with completing my assignments that I have been given, I have managed to find out allot about this business and this product so I am pleased with my decision. I am going to be finding out about the general aims and objectives for my chosen product that the business has set, I will also be discovering the SMART rule and I will be providing the basis for my marketing plan. I will be introducing this by using sections of the brief to make my plan, also researching the business. Cadburys used to be a family business and was running smoothly until the company went bankrupt in march 2010, since this Cadbury was acquired by Kraft Foods in March 2010. Kraft foods is an American based company that specializes in food such as chocolate and beverages. Kraft foods is a exceedingly good business earning around 1 billion dollars each year, and sells to over 170 different countries. Kraft foods is a public limited company. An aim is where the business wants to go in the future, its goals. It is a statement of purpose, e.g. we want to grow the business. A business aim is the goal a business wants to achieve. A primary aim for all business organizations is to add value and in the private sector this involves making a profit. More strategic aims include expansion, market leadership and brand building. A business o Objectives within an organization are established at a number of levels from top level corporate objectives, down to team objectives and individual objectives that create a framework for operational activities. These are often translated into targets which help to motivate staff in reaching short-term goals. Objectives therefore provide a clear structure for all of the various activities that an organization carries out. By measuring how well an objective has or has not been achieved, managers can make necessary changes to their activities to ensure progress and achievement of the stated objectives are made within the timescale allocated objective is a detailed picture of a step you plan to take in order to achieve a stated aim. A way to create this would to use the SMART rule.. Specific – clear and easy to understand. Measurable – i.e. able to be quantified. Achievable – possible to be attained. Realistic – not ‘pie in the sky’. Time bound – associated with a specific time period For example†¦. The aims of Cadburys are 1. Improving farmer incomes by helping farms to increase their yields and produce top quality beans. 2. Introducing new sources of rural income through microfinance and business support to kick start new rural businesses and introduce additional income streams such as growing other crops. Developing communities by helping them meet their own goals and improve rural life. For example, by supporting health through building wells for clean, safe water; education, through schools and libraries; and the environment through bio-diversity projects. 4. Working in partnership a pioneering model led from the grass roots. Farmers, governments, NGOs and international agencies work together to decide how the funding is spent and work with local organizations to turn plans into action. Cadbury is an international company that make, market and sell exclusive brands chocolate. Cadbury have achieved this effectively for over 200 years. The reason they are so successful is because they have a apparent and a clear understanding of the requirements and needs of their consumers, customers and other stakeholders. SMART stands for .. †¢Specific †¢Measurable †¢Achievable †¢Realistic †¢Timed Smart means objectives- they break up the aim into small do able task’s to make the job easier and achievable. Specific – Objectives should specify what they want to achieve, For example a soft drinks company may want to achieve 3% market share in 12 months. Measurable – You should be able to measure whether you are meeting the objectives or not to continue to run your business in a organised and professional manor, for example a market share over 12 months means that each month market share targets can be measured against a specific goal. Achievable – Are the objectives you set, achievable to be able to carry on your business plan, an example for this would be over a period of time such as one year 12 months you need to be able to know does the company have the resources, man power and finances to achieve the goal. Realistic Can you realistically achieve the objectives with the resources you have such as space finance and staff and equipment, and does the company need more time than 1 mouths to get to the standard that the owner want. Time- this would mean when you want to set a time for the objectives and aims that you have set yourself and the marketing there need to be a date and able to make it specific and achievable, such as some business set a 12 month business plan to achieve these goals. Marketing objectives should be based on understanding your strengths and weaknesses, and the business environment you operate in. They should also be linked to your overall business strategy for example if the business id doing well and the sales increase by 15% in the last year then you should set a business plan that will help boost encourage the market sales further for example leading out a new product or different advertising to appeal more the customers. This should follow the SMART rules. For Cadburys cream egg i would need to use SMART to make my business plan specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed, for example mine would be to boost market sales by 20% in 6 months by April 1st, i will do this by creating a new angle for the cream egg and make the advertising the product in a new way and maybe reshaping the product, for example such as Kellogg’s Special K they reinvented this product by advertising it so it would be a new slimming product it was targeted at women middle aged women as these area of people are the most likely to buy the product, this was effective and is now a top seller cereal. This is Realistic as i will have the eight resources and the finances to do this goal, this objective will be finished in 6 months time on the 1st of April 2012.

IT Project Implementation Failures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT Project Implementation Failures - Essay Example The major indicators of the failure in the project implementation are: a. One of the major reasons that affected the failure of the project could be that the project ran out of budget to be controlled. An initial project plan was designed with the budgeted requirements needed for the implementation of the project. But in course of time while the project was in progress it was observed that there was huge drainage in fund and this caused a major impediment to the progress of the project. One reason for the failure of the CPOE system was that the project overran the budgeted requirement. (Wager, Lee & Glaser, 2009) b. Another most important factor, which literally led to the failure of the project, could be the time overruns. When the initial outlay of the project is designed a time period is also determined which is recognized as the deadline for the implementation of the project. But in case of the CPOE project it was observed that lack of proper system planning and designing led to creeping up of a large number of issues during the progress of the project. This led to severe delay in the implementation plan of the project. The project, which was divided in several modules, started to get delayed when problems started creeping up in implementing each module.

Archaeology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Archaeology - Essay Example In â€Å"Fishing from past to present: continuity and resilience of red abalone fisheries on the Channel Islands, California†, Braje et al. develop an 8000-year time-line employing archaeological data from the Holocene and historical data from the last century and a half â€Å"with the objective of integrating deep time into modern resource management.† (906) In 1997 emergency closure by the California Fish and Game Commission was instituted on the red abalone fishery in response to what was viewed as a catastrophic decline in the red abalone population. However, according to Braje et al., the archaeological record indicates that â€Å"anthropologic trophic cascades began some 8000-7500 years ago along the Santa Barbara Coast.† (917) In other words, the number of various prey and predator species has oscillated significantly over the last eight millennium along the Santa Barbara Coast. This optimistically indicates that the current decline in the red abalone popu lations is not necessarily permanent.

Existentialism -- Reading Intrepretation of The Stranger by Albert Essay

Existentialism -- Reading Intrepretation of The Stranger by Albert Camus - Essay Example Additionally, the idea not to have any form of remorse is also a strategy of committing other sins that are unwarranted. Therefore, I think Meursault did not intend to kill the Arab, but acted in self defense when his assailant flashed him a knife. The peculiarity of Meursault’s personality and behavior especially in the first part of the book defines a man who is disturbed by society. In other words, the character suffers from personal issues such as lack of emotions and an inner hatred that cannot be understood by other members of society. This is manifested in his queer decision to mislead his friend, Raymond to take revenge on his girlfriend for infidelity. Additionally, the weird trait is also apparent in taking Marie for sexual purposes (Camus 186). Alternatively, this spreads to the decision to turn a chance of shifting his company because of his erratic behavior that is also uncontrollable. Therefore, this suggests that he understands the above relationships and decisions in a different sense that is against the expected societal expectations. On that account, regarding authenticity in a Heideggerian sense, Meursault is not authentic. This is because he is a man who lacks both dynamic and flexibility characteristics. Similarly, the main character lacks the trait of tolerance with the other characters and society. This means there is an internal conflict that is not in tandem with the Heideggerian sense of authenticity. Additionally, the inability of Meursault to yearn for other possibilities in life such as integration is a clear indication of an inauthentic man in society. As the book ends, there is a new vision for Meursault in the context of self discovery and realization of life. The protagonist is seen ranting at a chaplain who has come to pray for him before his execution at the guillotine for the murder of an Arab. In that

Construction Safety Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Construction Safety - Coursework Example OSHA guidelines in many states act as mere guidelines and not the law as construction accidents increase as time goes by. This has caused many states e.g. Massachusetts and Connecticut to have in place stricter guidelines that highly follow OSHA rules or supersede them. Furthermore, these states ensure that the OSHA rules are followed to the letter e.g. the 10 hr-OSHA training (Ireland, 2006). As it has been seen trenching is an area that requires huge attention as fatalities and injuries are alarmingly high. Trenching has many regulations as to safety of the workers but they are hardly followed by construction firms. The case of Robert Harrell in Texas and Martin Samaniego in California are a clear proof of how neglected OSHA guidelines are. Investigations to these cases revealed that little had been done to protect these excavators from caving in or collapsing of the trenches they were working in. These are just but two fatality cases in two dozens reported yearly in the United States. Of importance to note is that more than 1000 cases of collapsed trenches are reported annually with non-fatal injuries (Ireland, 2006). The biggest issue that concerns safety in trench-related constructions is lack of enforcement of laid down regulations or guidelines. It is sad to note that in 2004 inspections in such sites by OSHA officials proved this fact. Around 90 percent of the inspected trench sites had no protective systems in place exposing the workers to immense danger of fatalities or injuries in case of cave-ins or collapse (Ireland, 2006). The remedial action that has been in force for quite a long time is the fining system. This shows that this system has faults or loopholes that are being taken advantage of by the contractors. For this reason some firms e.g. Morrilton and Koontz Electric Co. are known to disregard OSHA rules and enforce stiffer ones in their constructions (Ireland, 2006). Although sloping,

Management Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Management Issue - Essay Example In this study we would be including issues related to organizational culture, communication, motivational factors for the employees, performance appraisal policies of the company, the diversity and change management aspects of Vodafone, preference of leadership styles or traits in the company, team-works, group goals of the divisions, decision-making process, conflict management and negotiation techniques utilized by the management of the company, company politics, and survival kit of Vodafone in times of crisis. Vodafone employs around 83,900 people around the world, in which about 16.5 percent senior positions are occupied by women. Vodafone carries out internal survey to acquire feedback from its stakeholders regarding the organizational process and functions of the company. In a survey conducted in 2010, the company found that 90 percent of the employees were proud to be a part of Vodafone, motivated by the company at every step and loyal towards their responsibilities and the company. The company received 75 out of 100 in employee engagement, which is a really high score. Communication is the core service or product that the company offers, so their global intranet system is actively utilized by the employees to access and transmit information within the organization. The Chief Executives of the company is directly communicated all the information through online team meetings, video conferencing, and emails. The information and change decisions are discussed with the employees through t eam meetings. The culture of the company is based on The Vodafone Way. There is a separate leadership team of 230 people would have been the cornerstone for the project The Vodafone Way. They conducted workshops and presented how the culture of the organization under this new program would be. Changes in structure, accountabilities and governance of the company were made to maintain its position in the stiff competitive telecom

Political Philosophy Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Philosophy Questions - Essay Example He argues that for a general will to be real, it must come from everyone for everybody hence having a formal and substantive aspect. Formally, in the sense that application of the law should be general such that it applies on every person. The general will institute human rights because it is a force of the just and good as it is independent and sovereign. Through this, the community is under the control of everybody and their rights therefore no one can take any action without the permission from all. There is removal of individual achievements through this kind of dependency because all the power is in the sovereign of the community. When there is a major decision to make, they participate in voting instead of the benefit of a debate. Political communities can be of great use in releasing people from their mistaken perception, conflicts, and corruption. General will is supreme and everyone despite his or her position in the society has to obey it fairly. The rulers in political history who have employed general will in ruling in their administration have clearly shown a vibrant benevolence and love for humanity (â€Å"Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy†). Participatory democracy is the process of stressing the participation of constituents in the operation of a political system. It tries to make every member of a population make valid contribution in decision-making process. Representative democracy is the process of electing representatives through elections so that they can represent a group of people in the decision-making processes. There are two possible ways of combining both democracies through coexistence at diverse levels and complementariness. That is an interaction between participatory and representative democracies. For instance, when there is a decision to make from a political society, in order to increases participation at the local level politicians can return the power that was

Operation management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Operation management - Essay Example conomic crunch has made customers to shrink their budgets thereby preferring airlines that charge relatively less than others one of them being Southwest Airlines. This airline is an example to many the world over due to its consistent profitability streak since its establishment. Southwest Airlines is one of the most profitable and respected airlines in the world. It is a no-frills airline having been established in 1971 as a low cost choice for Americans. It has its base in Dallas, Texas and it serves more than 85 million passengers annually (Southwest 2011). Its net income is well over 100 million dollars a year which it uses for expansion and other strategies. During its establishment the airline had only 3 aircrafts but it currently has a fleet of over 500. All these aircrafts are from Boeing and they help the airline to traverse the US skies while serving more than 70 cities (Southwest 2011). Due to its point-to-point strategy it records one of the highest numbers of flights at 3,100 per day. For it to support these services it has employed 35,000 people many of whom are able to multitask in various departments which makes them some of the most highly paid in the American airline industry. Considering the huge customer base and the demand for its servic es, the airline has done pretty well as it currently stands to be the best in customer service in the US airline market. The company management has for decades managed to stick to the low cost initiative by minimising operational costs and improving on efficiency. Unlike its rivals Regional Airlines and AMR, it has all along charged low fares and offered simplicity in its service range. The above information is summed up by the airline’s mission statement which partly states; The Chief Executive Officer Gary Kelly who is also the President is following his predecessors by ensuring that customers receive the best service and utmost attention from the company staff. This has been possible throughout the years

Which structural form, if any, is most suitable for an SHRM approach Essay

Which structural form, if any, is most suitable for an SHRM approach - Essay Example Management theorists and researchers have emphasized the difference between, and importance of, strategic HRM and human resource strategy, in achieving organisational goals. Therefore, strategic HRM decisions are incorporated into the strategic plan from which HR strategies are derived. According to Price (2007), strategies are means used by organisations to achieve their objectives, in the form of decisions taken well in advance to meet the long-term goals of the organisation. Strategic HRM focuses on widespread aspects of organisation such as organisational culture, individual career development, having right people for the right job, etc. In relation to this, Mabey, Salaman and Storey (1998) have proposed four different perspectives: firstly, SHRM entails complex activities that are beyond the responsibilities of personnel or HRM managers and extend to all aspects of managing people including social and economic context of management of internal and external environments impacting the organisation and its people; secondly, it includes impact of strategies on business performance, and thus emphasizes on measurement of performance; thirdly, management styles are more defined and according to the existing people and goals; and lastly, development of organisational capability is encompassed through strategic knowledge management. Much work on SHRM field has resulted in various models and types of SHRM, which can be broadly classified into two groups, the general and prescriptive approaches. Delery and Doty (1996) and Richardson and Thompson (1999) have framed ‘best practices, ‘best fit’ and the ‘configurational’ approaches (cited by Armstrong, 2000); another perspective by Armstrong (2000) includes high-commitment, high-performance and high involvement models. In the ‘best practice’ approach, organisations adopt best HRM practices such as employment

Use of Texting in Parent and Child Relationships Essay Example for Free

Use of Texting in Parent and Child Relationships Essay Starting in the late 1980s, The European public telephone network and the European Community and European Telecommunications Standards Institute developed the GSM, which is most similar to what we call â€Å"cell phones† today. This phone drastically changed the communications world with the ability to place international calls, send SMS texts, and even had luxuries like caller ID and voicemail, which we all take for granted now. This phone started a revolution that is still changing everyday, with newer and better phones releasing every month with the latest technology and sleek designs. Texting has its own language, customs, and ways of doing things. There are known rules when it comes to texting, which I believe makes it rhetorical. Text messaging is a new medium of expression, one that is changing the dynamic of communication rapidly, especially between parents and their children. The controversy over parental control versus a child’s freedom has now become an even more complex issue with the introduction of cell phones in the equation (Ling 119). While some believe that texting negatively effects their children because parents may not pay enough attention to their children or that texting doesn’t give children the social skills they need, on the other hand I will argue that texting gives children autonomy while giving them the ability to stay in close contact with their family and keep intimacy, if done in balance. Many argue that texting has negative consequences on the parent and child dynamic, for example that parents do not pay close enough attention to their children anymore because of texting, and that children do not know how to properly speak face-to-face with people know because they have grown used to texting. In a journal entry from the Wall Street Journal, Worthen argued that the increase use of cell phones and texting in the past decade has caused an increase in injuries among small children. Nonfatal injuries have risen 12% from 2007 to 2010, and people over 13 owning iPhones or Blackberries has increased from 9 million to 114 million from 2007 to 2012 (1). This increased use of cell phones among adults does not necessarily mean it causes injuries in children, but the lack of attention parents are now giving could be the cause of more childhood injuries. This striking statistic is something people use to argue that texting is detrimental to society. Also, in an interview on Fox, Dr. Karen Ruskin says teenagers are now having trouble communicating with people face-to-face because of the increased use of technology. However, she says that if parents balance their children’s time on the phone and their time talking to each other and talking to other people, there should be no problem with communication. Texting in the parent and child relationship depends on the balance between the time spent on the phone and the time spent with each other, and if that is in balance, texting can be beneficial for their relationship. With the new technology of texting, parents are finding it difficult to balance giving their children independence while still keeping intimacy in their relationship as they grow older. Through interviews with different parents, Jeffrey Zaslow found that the balance is about staying busy, so when you do talk it is more intimate and understanding. He also said that parents are finding that their children in their twenties are still texting their parents often, and parents are becoming afraid that their child will never grow up and leave home. However, he said this is very normal because the twenties is a time for tons of huge changes and that texting their parents is a firm and stable ground they can fall back on (2). Texting changes the dynamic families use to communicate with each other, and keeping the parental status without being distant is a new problem parents have to face. The balance between letting your child have the independence of having a cell phone, while still keeping a close relationship is a fine line, but if it is done correctly I can allow relationships to flourish. It may be difficult for parents to learn this new form of communication, but it can help parents to touch base with their children often and keep in touch when separated. Families are pulled in different directions every minute of every day, and with more and more distractions and more responsibilities as we grow older, still communicating regularly can be difficult, but with the ease and efficiency of sending a text in only a minute, communication is still possible. Texting allows families to stay close and keep personal relationships at all times. In my personal interview with my mom, she said the most difficult problem we have about staying in touch is finding time for both of us to call each other and have a conversation, in our schedules. A lot of the times I will be in class when she can talk, or she will be in a meeting when I can talk, so we have learned that it is more effective for us to text each other all day whenever our schedules allow us so we stay informed on each others lives and keep our relationship (Bostic). In another study on the dynamics of texting in the family, and how a mobile diary can be used to study family dynamics, it was found that that family members prefer texting as their mode of communication amongst one other (Rà ¶nkà ¤ 2010). This further enforces the fact that texting is beneficial to families. Texting gives you the freedom to talk whenever your schedule allows you, like when you are on the go or waiting in line. It gives you the independence to talk whenever you desire and to whomever we desire. The balance between independence and intimacy in a parent and child relationship with the factor of texting has been argued for years now, but I believe texting is beneficial and helps keep personal relationships. It gives children the independence they need from their parents to make their own decisions and form their own opinions, while still giving parents a medium to communicate and stay in close contact with their children at all times. Texting matters in society because it is affecting socialization of future generations. We are now a more fast-paced society that relies heavily on technology as a means of communication, and texting allows people from all around the globe to keep in contact and share their thoughts, feelings, ideas, and messages to people from totally different continents, countries, and cultures. Works Cited Ling, Rich. The Mobile Connection: The Cell Phone’s Impact on Society. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, 2004. Print. Rà ¶nkà ¤, Anna. â€Å"Capturing Daily Family Dynamics Via Text Messages: Development of the Mobile Diary.† Community, Work Family 13.1 (2010): 5-21. Print. â€Å"Social Media Impact on Children.† Youtube. Fox Friends First. 12 Jun. 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2012. Worthen, Ben. â€Å"The Perils of Texting While Parenting.† Wsj.com. Wall Street Journal, 29 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012. Zaslow, Jeffrey. â€Å"’I Love My Parents’: How Close Families Balance Intimacy and Independence.† Wsj.com. Wall Street Journal, 21 Dec. 2006. Web. 6 Oct. 2012.

Agama Buddha ialah agama dan falsafah

Agama Buddha ialah agama dan falsafah Pengenalan Agama Buddha ialah agama dan falsafah yang berasaskan ajaran Buddha ÅšÄ kyamuni (SiddhÄ rtha Gautama) yang mungkin lahir pada kurun ke-5 sebelum masihi. Agama Buddha menyebar ke benua India dalam 5 kurun selepas Baginda meninggal dunia. Dalam proses perkembangan agama Buddha, agama ini praktis telah menyentuh hampir seluruh benua Asia. Agama Buddha terus menarik orang ramai menganutnya di seluruh dunia dan mempunyai lebih kurang 350 juta penganut. Agama Buddha dikenali sebagai salah satu agama yang paling besar di dunia. Dalam dua ribu tahun yang seterusnya, agama Buddha telah menyebar ke tengah, tenggara dan timur Asia. Kini, agama Buddha telah dipaparkan sebagai tiga aliran utama, iaitu Theravada, Mahayana, dan Vajrayana (Bajrayana). Latar Belakang dan Kehidupan Buddha Menurut tradisi Buddha, tokoh historis Buddha Siddharta Gautama dilahirkan dari suku Sakya pada awal masa Magadha (546-324 SM), di sebuah kota, selatan pergunungan Himalaya yang bernama Lumbini. Sekarang kota ini terletak di Nepal sebelah selatan. Ia juga dikenal dengan nama Sakyamuni. Setelah kehidupan awalnya yang penuh kemewahan di bawah perlindungan ayahnya, raja Kapilavastu (kemudian hari digabungkan pada kerajaan Magadha), Siddharta melihat kenyataan kehidupan sehari-hari dan membuat kesimpulan bahawa kehidupan nyata, pada hakikatnya adalah kesengsaraan yang tak dapat dihindari. Siddharta kemudian meninggalkan kehidupan mewahnya yang tak ada ertinya lalu menjadi seorang pertapa. Kemudian Baginda berpendapat bahawa bertapa juga tak ada ertinya, dan lalu mencari jalan tengah (majhima patipada ). Jalan tengah ini merupakan sebuah kompromis antara kehidupan berfoya-foya yang terlalu memuaskan hawa nafsu dan kehidupan bertapa yang terlalu menyeksa diri. Di bawah sebuah pohon bodhi, Baginda berkaul tidak akan pernah meninggalkan posisinya sehingga menemui Kebenaran. Pada usia 35 tahun, Baginda mencapai Pencerahan. Pada saat itu Baginda dikenal sebagai Gautama Buddha, atau Buddha(secara harafiah: orang yang telah mencapai Penerangan Sempurna). Untuk 45 tahun selanjutnya, Gautama Buddha telah menyebarkan ajarannya tanpa berhenti di merata-rata tempat. Sejarah Buddhisme di Malaysia Sejarah Buddhisme di Malaysia boleh dibahagikan kepada 2 peringkat: 1. PERINGKAT AWAL: Pada awal kurun Masihi, seperti yang disebutkan oleh Dr. Coedes dalam bukunya, Indianized States of South East Asia, Warisan kebudayaan Orang India di Asia Tenggara dapat dibuktikan daripada corak kebudayaan yang terdapat di Semenanjung dan Tanah Besar Asia Tenggara; Bahasa Sanskrit telah menjadi ansur bahasa tempatan; dan unsur-unsur tradisi orang India masih terdapat di negara-negara yang bertukar kepada Islam. Tetapi Prof. D.G.E. Hall, dalam bukunya A History of South East Asia, percaya bahawa kebanyakan tradisi India telah mengubahsuai apabila bertentangan dengan tradisi tempatan, misalnya sistem kasta tidak pernah dipraktikkan di sini. Akan tetapi fakta ini tidak boleh dihapuskan iaitu aktiviti perdagangan dan perniagaan telah menarik ramai pedagang India datang berdagang di Asia Tenggara. Pedagang-pedagang ini membawa bersama kebudayaan, ugama serta kesenian mereka ke rantau ini. Banyak barangan yang digali dari tanah oleh ahli arkeologi membuktikan bahawa bahagian utara Tanah Melayu, iaitu Negeri Kedah, pernah dipengaruhi oleh kebudayaan awal Buddhisme. Pada pertengahan kurun ke 3 sebelum masihi, selepas Kausil Buddhis Ketiga, Maharaja Asoka telah menghantar dua orang Bhiksu, iaitu Ven. Sona dan Ven. Uttara datang ke rantau ini untuk menyebarkan agama Buddha. Pada kurun yang ke 5, Buddhisme telah berkembang dengan baik di Semenanjung Melayu. Exkavasi arkeologi bukan hanya terhad di Kedah sahaja, tetapi didapati di Kuala Selinsing, Tanjung Rambutan, Lembah Kinta, Bidor dan Sungai Siput di Perak, di Perlis dan juga di Pahang. Langkasuka merupakan sebuah negara Buddhis yang pertama, ia ditubuhkan pada kurun masihi ke 2 dan berpusat di Banjaran Gunung Jelai, kemudian ia mengembangkan kuasanya ke bahagian Selatan Negeri Thai. Pada kurun ke 7, Buddhisme Mahayana telah menjadi sistem Buddhisme yang lebih diterima oleh rakyat Semenanjung Tanah Melayu. Pada masa itu, Tanah Melayu berada di bawah kuasa Srivijaya, sebuah empayar Buddhis yang berpusat di Pulau Jawa. Agama Hindu telah mengalami kebangkitan semula di India pada kurun ke 10, maka Agama Buddha kehilangan sokongan yang diberi oleh istana serta golongan bangsawan. Kejatuhan pengaruhnya di India telah mempengaruhi kekuasaannya di Asia Tenggara. Pada akhir abad ke 12, empayar Srivijaya mengalami kejatuhan, begitu juga halnya dengan pengaruh Buddhisme. Pada awal kurun ke 10, Parameswara mendirikan Empayar Melaka. Apabila Parameswara dan Raja-Raja lain menganuti Agama Islam, agama tersebut telah menjadi agama utama di rantau ini. Sehingga abad ke 15, Islam telah berjaya mengambil alih kedudukan Buddhisme sebagai agama yang utama diterima oleh istana dan rakyat biasa, lantas Buddhisme di Tanah Melayu pada masa itu mengalami kemerosotan. Walaupun begitu, masih terdapat banyak peninggalan kebudayaan Buddhisme di Kedah, Perlis dan Kelantan akibat pengaruh Negeri Thai. Unsur-unsur Buddhisme masih terbukti dalam drama Menora dan wayang kulit. 2. PERINGKAT KOMTEMPORARI: Penghijrahan beramai-ramai orang China ke Tanah Melayu pada abad ke 17 merupakan arus ombak yang kedua. Pada masa itu, Buddhisme hanya merupakah upacara amalan yang penuh dengan kepercayaan dan kebudayaan Cina. Hanya pada tahun 1950, barulah terdapat penganut Buddha yang cuba meningkatkan status dan kedudukan Buddhisme. Dengan tertubuhnya banyak organisasi buddhis, termasuk YBAM (Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia) dan MBA (Malaysian Buddhist Association), maka wujudlah satu suasana yang baru yang menyatupadukan para Buddhis. Satu perkembangan lain yang penting ialah terdapatnya pengaliran masuk bentuk-bentuk Buddhisme yang dipengaruhi oleh kebudayaan-kebudayaan Thai, Sri Langka, Burma, Jepun dan Tibet. Ini telah membentuk Buddhisme di Malaysia yang pelbagai rupa bentuk. Kesimpulan Buddha adalah benar sama rata kepada semua. Setiap lapisan masyarakat tidak kira kaya atau miskin, semuanya dianggap sama rata dalam mata Buddha. Agama Buddha tidak mengabaikan agama lain atau mengutuk agama lain sebagai agama jahat. Dalam ajaran agama Buddha, kenyataan dan ilmu yang diajar bukannya perintah yang mestinya dituruti. Sesiapa yang tidak faham boleh mengemukakan soalannya dan soalan ini akan dijelaskan sehingga mencapai kefahamannya. Buddha pernah berkata: Keraguan yang besar akan mendapat lebih banyak pengajaran, keraguan yang sedikit akan mendapat pengajaran yang sedikit, manakala jika tiada keraguan, maka tiada pengajaran yang boleh dicapai. Rujukan http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agama_Buddha http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejarah_agama_Buddha http://wapedia.mobi/id/Buddhisme http://www.slideshare.net/katherine0111/agama-buddha-2047661 http://dhamma-bm.tripod.com/am/sejarah.htm http://wapedia.mobi/id/Sejarah_agama_Buddha?t=4. .http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:fe_ATowMUWAJ:images.fazaly.multiply.multiplycontent.com/attachment/0/So-PAQoKCJEAAAyqlHw1/zTugas%2520Sejarah.docfzl.doc%3Fnmid%3D277222991+sejarah+agama+buddhacd=200hl=enct=clnkgl=my

American Beauty (1999) Summary and Analysis

American Beauty (1999) Summary and Analysis American Beauty tells the story of one mans search for happiness. The film introduces the audience to Lester Burnham, an ordinary- looking married man and father in his forties. Lester is in a loveless marriage. Lesters wife, Carolyn, is so wrapped-up in her real estate career that Lester often claims that Carolyn doesnt even acknowledge him. Furthermore, Lesters daughter, Jane, is completely distant, often claiming how pathetic she thinks her father is. Moreover, Lester has dedicated fourteen years to his occupation, and suddenly, he is in danger of losing his job due to downsizing. All of these factors dramatically effect Lester and culminate into feelings of desperation and vulnerability for him. Lester is therefore in search of an escape and a rebirth. He is seeking the slightest possibility of happiness. Throughout the story Lester is consistently reminiscing on his past; wishing he could have it back. In the beginning portions of the story, Lester, as the narrator, states that it is never too late to regain your past. The catalyst to this frame of thought is Janes friend, Angela. Lester feels excited by the thought that a teen-age girl thinks he is hot. Lester overhears Angela state that she would have sex with him if Lester would start working-out and build-up his body. This drives Lester to change himself completely. Lester, in desperate search of happiness , finds an escape in Angela. Much like a hormone-driven teenage boy, Lester thinks that if he can score with a bombshell like Angela, then he will be reborn. Lesters mission for happiness and escape is further perpetuated by his eighteen year old neighbor, Ricky. In Ricky, Lester sees his model for rebirth. Lester calls Ricky his hero and is in awe of Rickys confidence. Lester, then begins a transformation back to his stereotypical understanding of what a teenager is. Lester begins to work-out, smoke pot, and drink beer. Much like a teen, he rebels against responsibility by quitting his job and; therefore, bypassing his duties as a provider to his daughter and wife. Furthermore, Lester spontaneously, trades in his Mercedes automobile for a 1970s cherry-red Trans Am sports car. In addition, Lester pursues a job with the least amount of responsibility. He finds that job in a fast food restaurant. All of these actions are deemed necessary to Lester because this is the way to escape and thus achieving happiness. The first scene where the audience is introduced to Lesters transformation process is when he first spots Angela. Lester and Carolyn decided to come and support Jane at a school basketball game where she is to perform a dance at half-time. This scene is significant because it shows how Angelas sexuality motivated Lester to rebel against who he is. Furthermore, this scene exemplifies Lesters characteristics as a hormone-crazed male in search of sex. This frame of thought is associated more with teens than with men in their forties. The first two technical elements used to exemplify this scene are composition and camera movement. The scene begins with Lester and Carolyn already in the stands with the crowd. Angela, Jane, and the other cheerleaders enter the picture with right to left movement assisted by a panning camera shot of right to left. This foreshadows the unordinary actions that are about to occur. Almost immediately, into the dance routine, Angela is given an upward position in the frame elevated with dynamic composition. It is dynamic composition because there is movement (Angela dancing) within a fixed frame. By giving Angela an upward position within the frame this suggest Lester is first noticing her. As the scene continues, and Angela has Lesters full attention, Angela is shown moving towards the camera in another dynamic composition shot complemented by the camera zooming in on her. This gives the audience an idea as to the degree of attention that Lester is giving to Angela due to her sexuality. It also enhances her presence. The scene continues with a static composition shot of Lester. It is static composition because there is no movement within the frame. The camera then begins to zoom in on Lester. As the camera zooms, the crowd is eliminated and only Lester is shown in the frame. Furthermore, the camera focuses on Lesters eyes and makes them appear bigger than they actually are. This makes Lester look like an animal drooling at the mouth over something he desires. At this point, the camera performs a point of view shot showing what Lesters eyes are fixated on, and focuses on Angela. This, once again, displays the degree of enchantment that Angela has placed over Lester. Angela is also shown alone in the frame. This shows that in Lesters mind, only Angela and himself exist at this moment. Not even his daughter is of any relevance. The scene concludes with the camera then performing a shot-reverse-shot of Angela then Lester. This allows the audience to see that in Lesters fantasy, Angela is dancing erotically just for him and is paying as much attention to him as he is paying to her. It is important to note that Angela and Lester are never shown in the same frame in this scene. This suggest that there is some barrier that is between them such as the fact that Lester is desiring a girl that is his daughters age. Lighting is another technical element that adds to the effectiveness of this scene. When the camera performs a point of view shot from Lesters perspective to show the audience that he is fixated on Angela; Angela is shown by herself in the frame. As stated above, this is to show that Angela is the only object of Lesters attention. Lighting adds to this effect. Lighting is used to focus the audience on Lesters eyes and to show that he is being enchanted by what he sees. As Angela is shown alone in the frame, the background in the shot becomes completely black. There is a bright light shining on Angela. The source of the light is not clear, and is coming from above Angela. The lighting in the scene is high contrast and low key. It is high contrast because the difference between light and darkness is clear. It is low key lighting because Angelas shadow can be seen behind her and shadows can be seen on the rest of Lesters face, excluding his eyes.. The contributions that the lighting effect has in this scene are many. First of all, the light shining solely on Angela adds to the audience understanding that Angela is the object of Lesters attention. Secondly, light is usually affiliated with good and darkness with bad. The light compliments Angelas characteristics because she is a virgin. Since the source of the lig ht cannot be seen, there can be speculation that the light is one from Heaven, shining down on her to show her innocence. At the same time, Angela is trying to be somebody that she is not. She consistently claims throughout the movie that she is sexually experienced. The darkness in the background of the shot can be the foreshadowing of things to come if she continues on this path of lies. Even though she may be a virgin, unknowingly to Lester; Lester views her and is thinking bad thoughts. He is fixated with her sexuality, as shown through the dance routine his fantasy has Angela perform. Lesters thoughts which represent darkness, are shown as surrounding Angela and her innocence. Editing complements this scene by adding more definition to the relationship-to-be between Angela and Lester. The entire scene uses decoupage. It is decoupage because the cutting is fast paced which suggests an almost chaotic and imbalance perspective to the audience and at the same time it shows that the thoughts that are going through Lesters head are not ordinary, instead they are chaotic. Also, decoupage has a tendency to use close-ups. This scene has plenty of zoom shots of Angela and Lester. Furthermore, it is important to note that Angela and Lester are never shot together in the scene. They are individually shot in a shot-reverse-shot fashion. This suggest a disunity between the both of them. Again, something is separating the both of them, such as the age gap. Not including the absence of decoupage and ellipsis is important in this scene. Absence of decoupage requires a decelerated pace. A slower pace would take away from the chaotic sensation that decoupage brings and; therefore, would not reflect well on the relationship-to-be between Angela and Lester. Using ellipsis would require fast-paced cutting that would c ompare and contrast the actions occurring in this scene with another scene. This would disturb the scene and take away its effectiveness. By showing the degree of passion between Angela and Lester in his fantasy; the audience learns much about Lesters intentions and transformation. The usage of sound adds to the effectiveness of both Angelas moves and Lesters thoughts in this scene. The scene begins with Jane, Angela, and the other cheerleaders dancing to a wordless version of On Broadway. This is parallel diegetic sound because it relates to what can be seen on screen. The usage of this song is important to the theme of this movie. Lester is about to embark on a mission to be free. Lester is going to pursue happiness. In the same way, On Broadway is about pursuing a new experience. On Broadway speaks about coming to New York and being taken aback by all the lights and attractiveness of the city. In the same manner, Lester is about to be taken aback by an American beauty, Angela. Fu rther in the scene, through shot-reverse-shot fashion, only Angela and Lester are in the frame (they are shown separately); the song On Broadway and the crowd cannot be heard. This is an example of contrapuntal sound. Contrapuntal sound involves muting sound beyond what one would normally hear if he/she were in that scene. Using this devise adds to the audience understanding the amount of attention that Lester is giving Angela. Lester, in his fantasy, is so infatuated with Angela that it appears that he can zone-out all the other tremendous noise occurring during a basketball game. During Lesters fantasy, as Angela is dancing in an extremely erotic manner, touching her body all over, a slow and erotic song begins to play. The song has a romantic and Latin beat to it that intensifies the mood from the audiences perspective; providing clues as to what Lesters intentions are with Angela. This is an example of non-diegetic sound. It is sound that does not have its source in the image. The second scene of interest occurs when Lesters erotic dreams are about to become reality. Lester and Angela are in his house. Lester has confessed to Angela that he wanted her since the first time he laid eyes upon her . The scene begins with Lester laying Angela down on a couch so he could have sex with her. This scene is essential because Angela and her virginity is for the taking, but Lester comes to a realization and refuses to have sex. Lester transforms once again, from the teenage rebel he had become, back to the man he was. He came to understand, as most boys do when they become mature men, that sex is not the key element to happiness. Lester did want his past back. However, he wanted back the past that included the family he had lost. Composition and camera movement are used in this scene. As the scene begins, Lester has Angela and is laying her down on the couch. This is a dynamic shot with downward movement. It is dynamic because there is movement within a fixed frame. The downward movement implies an action that is not positive, such as Lester having sex with a teenager. Furthermore, the downward movement implies something lost, such as Angelas virginity and innocence. If they have sex , both of those will be lost forever. This shot is also a canted shot. It is a canted shot because Angela appears at a 45 degree angle in the frame. This suggest that things are bizarre and that Angelas point of view is slanted. A bizarre sex act is about to occur, and Angela is inexperienced, and doesnt know the first thing about why she should be having sex. As the scene continues, the camera pans from left to right and right to left following Lesters hands as they go up and down Angelas body. The camera movement intensifies the erotic feeling in the audience. The camera then moves to a dynamic crane shot , showing Lesters hands unbuttoning Angelas blouse. That shot is then followed by shot-reverse shot of Angela and Lester looking at one another. Angela, is given the low angle, looking-up at Lester, which implies that Lester is in control. This complements the idea that society considers it a macho action for the man to be in control. Still thinking under the mentality of a hormone-crazed teen, Lester feels good. It i s important to note that Lester and Angela are not shown in the same shot during these actions. This implies disunity and an ironic separation because they are about to engage in the most intimate activity two humans can share with one another. It is also important to note, that during the crane shots, Angela is consistently given the higher position in the frame. This implies that she is pure and innocent because usually good elements are given the higher position over bad elements (such as heaven being in the sky and hell down under). As Lester is prepared to begin the sex act, Angela reveals that she is a virgin. It is at this point that Lester realizes what he is doing and stops. This shot is a dynamic shot with a crane. It is as if, by some divine intervention, Lester came to realize the error of his ways before it was too late. The scene concludes with a dynamic shot of Lester apologizing to Angela and, for the first time in this scene, they are scene in the same frame. This time, Lester is given the higher position in the frame. This symbolizes that he has come to a realization and is wise. The usage of lighting in this scene implies many symbolic meanings. Throughout the entire scene Angela is shot with light. For example, when the scene begins, Angela is laid down by Lester on a couch. Angela is wearing a white blouse, the couch she is lying on is white, and the light from outside is dimly shining on her, emphasizing the fact that she is wearing white. The light and the color white represent purity: Angela is a virgin. On the other hand, Lester is shown with even less light. As the came ra follows his hands erotically going up and down Angelas body; Lesters hands are given the least amount light possible in order to emphasize the impurity aspect of what he is doing. The lighting in this scene is low contrast and low key. It is low contrast because the light used was dim and was rather gray. This implies a sense of mystery because the audience knows that Carolyn is on the way to the house to kill Lester. Also, the audience is unsure if Lester is going to go through with having sex with Angela. It is low key because both Angelas and Lesters shadows can be seen. Editing is very significant in this scene. Decoupage is used throughout this scene. Decoupage implies that there will be fast-paced cutting. This is absolutely necessary in this scene in order to add to the excitement of the scene. Angela and Lester are at the point of no return. It is not clear what is going to happen. Fast paced cutting accelerates the speed of the scene, as almost to provide the audience with excitement. In this case, the kind of excitement that a teenage boy, or Lester, in this case, would feel before having sex. However, unlike the previous scene, this scene uses an ellipsis. This takes place when Lester is rubbing his hands around Angelas thighs. The scene cuts to Jane and Ricky. Both of them are about to run away to New York. The ellipsis occurs to show the audience what has caused Jane to do this. Lester never paid attention to Jane. Instead, he focused on her friend. All Jane wanted was atte ntion from her dad, but Lester was preoccupied with being irresponsible and chasing a girl. The scene then switches back to Angela and Lester. It is important to note that Angela and Lester are never shot in the same frame while sex is still a possibility between the both of them. Instead, they are shot in a shot-reverse-shot fashion. When Lester realizes the error he has made, both of them are shot in the same frame as a two-shot showing unity and resolution over the dilemma. Sound is used heavily in this scene. As the scene begins non-diegetic sound is used. This sound has no source in the image. The sound is music played by a piano and chimes. The music gives the audience a sense of the erotica that is occurring on the screen between Angela and Lester. It also serves a connector to Lesters fantasies. Whenever, Lester fantasizes, an erotic song is used. This time, his fantasy is about to come true. The music comes to an abrupt end when Angela reveals that she is a virgin. Suddenly, Lester realizes that he cannot have sex with a teenager. The ending of the music symbolized the conclusion of that fantasy as well as marked his return to manhood. Throughout this scene, it was raining outside. If you were in the scene you would be able to hear raindrops. But not in this case. This exemplifies the usage of contrapuntal sound. The raindrops were not heard during this scene. This gives the audience an idea of the amount of concentration that Lester was, once again, giving Angela. While Angela was around, nothing else mattered to Lester. Lesters inability to deal with difficult situations, combined with his need for freedom and lack for responsibility, appear to have been too much. Unfortunately, he realized that too late.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Ah, life eh? Hello Class of 2012. There are so many things to say to you. I feel so privileged to get to speak to everyone, and there is so much to say. We have come to this point in our lives that many have come to before us. I almost feel like I have done it already, having watched people grow up and graduate before. But now today it is our turn to really do it. To walk this aisle, to sit in the seats, and to play with these tassels. It seems like so long ago and it seems like just yesterday, those perils of adolescence. Brier Terrace Middle School, just seething with awkwardness and emotions, was where I spent most of my days, chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool, playing some b-ball outside of my school. One of my most memorable days at Brier was a day my friend Kyle kicked me in the face. We were playing Zebra ball in P.E., probably one of the legendary Mr. Soward's inventions, and I was already out, sitting on the wall waiting for the next round to begin. Kyle was still in the game running around, when he, in an attempt to dodge a ball hurling at him, tried to leap over me, unintentionally kicking me squarely in the face. My glasses broke a little and I was super embarrassed. Kyle had no idea that he did it and kept playing. Casually at lunch later, I told him what happened, as if he would want to know. It is funny what an impact, literally, our experience in school has made on us and also the impact we have made on them. Academically, we have achieved much at our school. Every one of us here has accumulated twenty-two Green Terrace High School credits and individually our very own Senior Project. A big pat on the back seems deserved by everyone here for four years of hard work. Some here get a big slap on... ...e that meant something to others, like Kyle and Mr. Tolstoy didn't, but you undoubtedly have. Don't forget the lessons that we have learned from each other. The ones in friendship, in love and all the lessons of just plain how to live well. My prayer for all of you is that you will not give up this wonderful habit of giving to people in this way, but that separately, as we all diverge from this place, you will live lives knowing that human worth is not dependent on achievement, but on simple existence. Find purpose in what comes naturally to all of us, to love. Class of 2003, you have given me more than I asked for, more than the titles I have received or accomplishments I have made, you have called me sister. Go out and be great because you are able to love greatly. Thank you so much for the honor of speaking. I adore you, my brothers and sisters, Class of 2003

Essay --

Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist who founded the Italian Positivist School of Criminology. Lombroso is famous for rejecting the Classical School of Criminology, which believed people have the free will in making decisions while committing crime and that the punishment must be swift and certain to deter people from crime. Lombroso Italian Positivist School considered phrenology and physiognomy had many influences on who would be a criminal, another popular term is the â€Å"atavistic born criminal† which states that criminality is inherited and that someone is a born criminal. In this paper I present Lombroso work and how his theories could identify a criminal by their outer physical traits. These early ideas and beliefs indicated that biology had a major influence on who would be a born criminal in society. Life and Times of Cesare Lombroso Cesare Lombroso was an Italian criminologist who founded the Italian Positivist School of Criminology. He was born November 6, 1835 in Verona, Italy to a wealthy Jewish family and died October 19, 1909. His father was Aronne Lombroso, he was a tradesman from Verona and his mother Zeffora Levi was from Chieri near Turin. Lombroso studied at the University of Padua, Vienna and Paris and was the professor of psychiatry at the University of Pavia. In 1859 he became an army surgeon for the Italian army and conducted a study called the â€Å"Southern Question†. He became the director of mental health at Pesaro Asylum in 1871 and in 1876 became the professor of forensic medicine at the University of Turin. In 1896 became a professor of psychiatry and anthropology in 1906 at the same university. Famous individuals such as Cesare Becarria and Charles Darwin laid the foundation for Lombroso work an... ...populations. Criminological theories that are corresponding to Lombroso theory are not widely found in current day criminology. Mainstream theories such as the labeling theory, and broken windows are popular today compared to Lombroso theory during his time. Lombroso’s theory has been noticeably lost within mainstream theories. It can be said that Lombroso work has been forgotten but two books in the mid 1990’s on female offenders and one entitled Man Genius prove that his work has not been forgotten. Cesare Lombroso’s accomplishments are not because of his own theories, but he laid the foundation for future criminologist. His imagination ignited new criminological thinking that has lasted over a 100 years. Lombroso’s theory is biological and that is a door that was opened in one of the world’s first theories to find the causality of crime within the criminal.

Beware of the Long Load Time Problem when You Buy a Website Essays

Buying a Website? Beware of the Long Load Time Problem Numerous studies have show that, while most web designers use fast internet connections, the majority of their audience still use comparatively slower connections. Because of this, many designers create web pages that may load quickly enough on their own computers, but take excessively long to load on their audiences' computers. Many web designers have not dealt with this issue on their websites, resulting in the loss of a valuable audience, even though numerous ways of dealing with the long load time problem exist. The largest cause of long page load times is the graphical content of the webpage. While text generally does not take too long to load over most connections, images can adversely affect even the fastest connection speeds when used incorrectly. Because websites use images more than almost any other media, this problem affects web designing decisions for practically every website created. Many web designers use large, full-quality graphics on their websites, which often take up much of the page. These images, while very attractive, do not justify the long time they require to load. In addition, many designers use full screen graphical interfaces for their sites. Even when text is the main component of these pages, the graphical interface slows the load time to a crawl. This forces viewers interested only in the text to wait unjustifiably long for the graphical interface to load first. For websites created for image viewing, there are often numerous, large, high-quality images placed on a single page in a giant column. Even if a viewer wants to observe just one of these images, they must wait for the other unwanted images to load as well. All of these problems caus... ...o a different page. Many thumbnails can be placed on a single page, and their small size and high compression do not lengthen load times significantly. A thumbnail also gives viewers a preview of what the larger, full-quality image will look like if they click on a thumbnail, allowing them to decide beforehand if it is worth their time. In summary, too many webpage designers are misusing images in ways that cause websites to load far too slowly. They should instead take advantage the many solutions available for solving this problem when designing and implementing their sites. By not doing so, designers frustrate viewers and lose a valuable audience. Utilizing techniques for decreasing webpage load time will help web designers to expand their audiences and viewers to enjoy websites more fully, proving beneficial to those on both sides of the long load time problem.

Human resource Essay

1. In which ways does trader joe’s demonstrate the importance of each responsibility in the management process- planning, organizing, leading, and controlling? Traders joe’s outlet mangers are highly compensated, because they are trained on the traders joe’s system inside and out. The managers are hired from within the company’s already employed employees. Trader joe’s also writes job descriptions by desired soft skills. There employees are friendly and customer oriented. Trader joes have been using competitive advantages because trader joe’s has been doing extremely well and have been giving some advantages over there competitors in the marketplace. 2. Traders joe’s is owned by a German company operating in American. What are the biggest risks that international ownership and global events pose for trader joe’s performance effectiveness and performance efficiency? Trader joe’s would have to become a global management. This means that they would have to attract and hire a truly global manager who has a strong global perspective, are culturally aware, and always stay informed with the international developments. Trader joe’s would have to also become more in touch with global economy in which supplies, product markets, and business competition are worldwide and not local or national. 3. Given trader joe’s casual and nontraditional work environment, what should she do and what should she avoid doing in the first few days of work to establish herself as a skillful manager of this team? She should enroll in the traders joe’s training program so that she could learn the ends and outs of the company and there polices. She tries to make sure that she keeps a friendly crew. She should also make sure that her employee’s under her are well trained and knows the company polices and their expectations. 4. Are there any internal weaknesses or external competitors or industry forces that might cause future problems? Trader Joe is a perfect example of a Niche market store that has a very successful product differentiation strategy by focusing on their customer needs, taking care of their employees and continuing to provide great quality products. Today world whole and organic foods are in high demand, but it can be very expensive. Trader Joe has made this possible by bringing together healthy choices that does not hurt the customer’s pocket. If Trader Joe should continue to operate with this strategy they certainly have brighter horizon to see.

First Day of High School Essay

The beeping of my alarm clock sounded like a countdown. The first day of high school was only two hours away. I was excited, but a lot more nervous. I got out of bed, got ready, and then was on my way to the bus stop. All I could think of are the stories I heard about high school being so horrible with all the strict teachers, the really hard tests, and of course being a freshman doesn’t help either. The bus ride to the school was only ten minutes, but it seemed a lot longer. When we finally got there, I was more nervous than ever. The day ahead of me was about to get a lot more complicated though with all the work, finding a seat at lunch, and getting lost. After already being late to my first period and all of the not-so-bad classes afterwards, it was lunch time. I dropped off some books at the locker I shared with my boyfriend, and walked down with him. We were a little late when we got there so we ended up sitting somewhere we didn’t want to because the tables were already filled up. We went up to get our lunch and came back to find our seats were taken. We soon found out getting up meant risking your seat. The whole lunch period everyone was talking about how their day went so far. Most of them were complaining, including me. Then the bell rang and it was time to go to the next period. I really didn’t want lunch to end. But on the other hand, at least there were only about two hours left of the day. Finally, it was the end of the day. Finding my next class was easier. I still wasn’t in time, but neither were the other kids. When my 6th period ended, it was a huge relief. I thought the day was finally over. But I still had to get on the bus again to go home; therefore it still wasn’t completely over. I went to our locker, grabbed my take-home textbooks and checked to make sure I didn’t lock the combination in there again. I forgot which way to go, so I followed around my boyfriend. When I got outside, all the buses were in line. I walked back and forth trying to find mine or at least someone who was on the same bus as me. After most of the kids already found their bus, I started to get nervous. I still couldn’t find mine. Finally I saw someone who also took my bus. He was standing there clueless too. After a couple minutes, we finally found it. Our bus wasn’t in line like all the others were, it was behind some of the all of the buses. When I go t on, I knew the day was really over. To sum it all up, my first day of high school was a challenge. It’s a new school with new people, new teachers, new subjects, and new schedules. I also missed the school orientation so I was less experienced than most of the other students. I faced many problems such as the loads of work, finding a seat at lunch and keeping it, and getting lost. It was a long day, but I can now say I survived freshman year and the rest of High School.

The Difference between Language and Dialect

Language and Dialect : : : 2007? : : : : 2008/01/08 Abstract: This paper aims to probe into the study of language and dialect in the field of sociolinguistics. Part 1 is a general introduction to the issues being covered in the paper. Part 2 centers on the analysis of certain criteria that probably could be applied as to differentiate a language from a dialect. Part 3 and Part 4 introduce two distinguished kinds of dialects, namely, regional dialect and social dialect respectively through detailed examples.Part 5 investigates the different aspects of register which is closely related to the study of language and dialect. Part 6 is the conclusion. Key words: variety; regional dialect; social dialect; register Contents 1. Introduction 2. Criteria for differentiating a language from a dialect 2. 1 Variety and â€Å"mutual intelligibility† 2. 2 Other criteria (including Bell’s seven aspects in languages differentiation) 3. Regional dialect 3. 1 Definition and ch aracteristics of regional dialects 3. 2 Reasons for the appearance of regional dialects . Social dialects 4. 1 Social dialects in relation to age differences 4. 2 Social dialects in relation to sex differences 4. 3 Social dialects in relation to difference of social class membership 5. An introduction to register (field, mode and tenor) 5. 1 The field of discourse 5. 2 The mode of discourse 5. 3 The tenor of discourse 6. Conclusion 1. Introduction In sociolinguistics, language is considered as an abstract notion that is embodied in the form of dialects. It’s not clear-cut to distinguish a language from a dialect of a language. Mutual intelligibility† seems to be an ideal criterion in terms of telling a language from a dialect of a language, however, we can certainly find some cases that counter-argue this principle. Hence some other criteria should be applied as supplements to distinguish between a language and a dialect, among which, Bell’s seven principles for discussing different languages are of great inspiration. The varieties of dialects are differentiated according to the places in which they are used, the different social factors that affect their uses, and functions and styles they have when accommodating different situations in language communication.Accordingly, sociolinguists label these dialects as regional, social, and functional dialect respectively. This paper will touch upon the discussion of the different varieties of language in relation to the users, social factors and environment. 2. Criteria for differentiating a language from a dialect 2 . 1 Variety and â€Å"mutual intelligibility† In order to further the discussion of the difference between a language and a dialect, let’s first of all center on an important term in the field of sociolinguistics—variety. Then what is the definition of a variety? R. A.Hudson, a famous linguist, defines a variety of language as a set of linguistic items with simila r social distribution (1980:24). According to this definition, we can call any of the following items â€Å"varieties of language†: English, French, Chinese, London English, or the language used by a particular person, etc. It will be seen from this list that the general notion â€Å"variety† includes examples of what would normally be called languages, dialects and registers (a term meaning roughly â€Å"style†). Now we know that both â€Å"a language† and â€Å"a dialect of a language† are kind of variety.Then why do we call some varieties different languages and others different dialects of the same language? Many sociolinguists agree that a dialect is one of most problematic terms to give a general definition to. Some proposed that language exists in the form of dialect. What, then, is a dialect? What are the criteria for distinguishing between a language and a dialect of a language? Linguists start with the assumption that all human beings spe ak their own idiolects. Similar idiolects make up a particular dialect, and similar dialects make up a particular language.This statement in some sense presupposes that all the idiolects of a dialect and all the dialects of a language are mutually intelligible (Wang,1992:11). However, we can easily find cases to counter-argue this thesis if the principle of mutual intelligible serve as the only criterion for differentiating a language from a dialect. Take for example, the Scandinavian languages (including Norwegian, Swedish and Danish). Speakers of these three languages can, with little effort, understand and communicate with one another. These languages are mutually intelligible.According to the principle of â€Å"mutual intelligibility†, they are different dialects. But the fact is that they are usually assumed to be different languages. If we turn our attention to China, we will find that speakers of Cantonese and Mandarin will tell you that they speak the same language. P eople speaking Cantonese and people speaking Mandarin are not mutually intelligible at all, yet they almost certainly insist that they speak different dialects of the same language—Chinese, not different languages, for to the Chinese a shared writing system and a powerful social and cultural tradition form essential parts of our definition of language.So for these and other reasons, then, we cannot use the test of â€Å"mutual intelligibility† to differentiate between dialect and language. The fact is that there is no very clear distinction between the terms dialect and language. These two concepts are, as a matter of fact, ambiguous. The above two cases mentioned tell us that different languages are sometimes mutually intelligible and that dialects of the same language are sometimes not mutually intelligible at all. 2. 2 Other criteria (including Bell’s seven aspects in language differentiation) So apart from â€Å"mutual intelligibility†, we also need o ther supplementary criteria.Some sociolinguists have some accounts of differentiating a language from a dialect. One of them is based on the existence of a standard language or of a written form shared by a set of speakers. If two or more groups who differ in speech but regard the same form of speech as a standard, or if they share the common written form, they tend to be regarded as speaking different dialects rather than different languages, whatever degree of mutual intelligibility, like different dialects across China.On the contrary, the Scandinavian languages like Norwegian, Swedish and Danish are considered different languages because they have distinct, codified, standardized forms, with their own grammar books and literatures, which correspond to three separate nation states. Another account is made in terms of size and prestige. That means a language is larger than a dialect, so that a language can contain more dialects. For example, the Chinese language has seven dialects : Northern, Wu, Xiang, Gan, Min, Yue, and Kejia dialects.In addition, they also think that the term language implies social prestige, for it is written as well as spoken, but dialectal varieties are generally not used in formal writing, thus is not comparable with more socially valuable language. A famous linguist Bell (1976:147-57) has listed seven criteria that may be useful in discussing different kinds of languages. According to Bell, these criteria, namely, standardization, vitality, historicity, autonomy, reduction, mixture and de facto norms, may be used to distinguish certain languages from others. ) Standardization refers to the process by which a language has been codified in some way. That process usually involves the development of such things as grammars, dictionaries and possibly a literature, etc. Once a language is standardized it becomes possible to teach it in a deliberate manner. According to these criteria, both English and French are quite obviously standardized , Italian somewhat less so, and the variety known as Black English not at all. 2) Vitality, the second of Bell’s seven criteria, refers to the existence of a living community of speakers.This criterion can be especially used to distinguish languages that are â€Å"alive† from those that are â€Å"dead†. For example, Latin is dead in the sense that no one speaks it as native language; it exists only in a written form frozen in time, pronounced rather than spoken, and studied rather than used. Yet we should note that a language can remain a considerable force even after it is dead, that is, even after it is no longer spoken as anyone’s first language and exists almost exclusively in one or more written forms, knowledge of which is acquired only through formal education.Classical Greek and Latin still have considerable prestige in the Western world, and speakers of many modern languages continue to draw on them in a variety of ways. 3) Historicity refers to the fact that a particular group of people finds a sense of identity through using a particular language: it belongs to them. Social, political, religious, or ethnic ties may also be important for the group, but the bond provided by a common language may prove to be the strongest tie of all. Historicity can be long-standing.For example, the speakers of Chinese, the different varieties of colloquial Chinese make much of a common linguistic ancestry. 4) Autonomy is an interesting concept because it is really one of feeling. A language must be felt by its speakers to be different from other languages. However, this is a very subjective criterion. For example, some speakers of Black English maintain that their language is not a variety of English, but is a separate language in its own right. In contrast, speakers of Cantonese and Mandarin are not autonomous languages but are just two dialects of Chinese. ) Reduction refers to the fact that a particular variety may be regarded as a sub-v ariety rather than as an independent entity. Sometimes the reduction is in the kinds of opportunities afforded to users of the variety. For example, there may be a reduction of resources, that is, the variety may lack a writing system, etc. 6) Mixture refers to feelings speakers have about the â€Å"purity† of the variety they speak. This criterion appears to be more important to speakers of some languages than of others, e. g. more important to speakers of French and German than to speakers of English. ) De facto norms refers to the feeling that many speakers have that there are both â€Å"good† speakers and â€Å"poor† speakers, and that the good speakers represent the norms of proper usage. If we apply the above criteria to the different variation and change in the world, we will see that not every variety we may want to call a language has the same status as every other variety. English is a language, but so are Latin, Ukrainian and Chinese. Each satisfies a different sub-set of criteria from the above list. Although there are mportant differences among them, we would be loath to deny that any one of them is a language. They are all equals as languages, but that does not necessarily mean that all languages are equal. 3. Regional dialects 3. 1 Definition and characteristics of regional dialects As we travel throughout a wide geographical area in which a language is spoken, and particularly if that language has been spoken in that area for many hundreds of years, we are almost certain to notice differences in pronunciation, in the choices and forms of words, and in syntax.Such distinctive varieties are usually called regional dialects of the language. Regional dialect is named in accordance with their geographical distributions, so that Chinese Northern dialect is associated with the northern areas of China; Yue dialect is the main speech variety in Guangdong Province; and Xiang dialect is chiefly spoken by the inhabitants living in Huna n, etc. Regional dialects seem to be based on the different geographical locations in which each is the main means of daily communication.In regional dialects, vocabulary and syntax may also vary from one another, sometimes causing mutual unintelligibility. For example, Chinese speakers call the word â€Å"corn† differently in different regions, in Northeast China, people say â€Å" †; in Sichuan, it’s called â€Å" †; in Fujian, people say â€Å" †; and in South China’s Guangdong Province, people call it â€Å" †. The use of varied syntactic patterns in regional dialects is confusing as well, let’s study the following examples: In Cantonese In Mandarin , , From the above differences, we can observe that in Mandarin, adverb precedes verb or adjective, while in Cantonese, some adverbs are behind verb or adjective. 3. 2 Reasons for the appearance of regional dialects So what’re the reasons for the appearance of regio nal dialects? Firstly, Geographical barriers like mountain ranges, big rivers or other natural factors usually cause great transportation problems for people living in an out-of-way place. This is especially true of areas where economy is very backward.As a result, regional dialects appear when language with its own characteristics develops. Geographical isolation is one of the important factors for language variations within a country as well as across continents. Secondly, sociolinguistics also regards regional dialects as the result of historical changes in society. For example, many centuries ago, British settlers brought their native language—English to North America. After a few centuries, English in the two continents has developed into different regional dialects with their own characteristics in pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, etc.The same explanation can also be applicable to the case of Australian English, Indian English, Canadian English. Historical events li ke immigration and colonization have spread English into every corner of the world and split it into many different regional dialects. 4. Social dialects We know that human being are living in stratified social communities, and the way we use language reflects our differences in age, social status, social class, sex and profession, etc. All these become very crucial factors in determining in the relationship between different speech features and speakers’ social background (Wardhaugh, 1986:46) 4. Social dialects in relation to age differences Talking about age differences, we know youth frequently use vernacular words or slang forms and deletion of past tense marker—ed in the sentence like â€Å"My Dad cook for me yesterday. The tendency to make particular use or deletion of certain linguistic features marks their group membership when they tend not to conform to the social norms. But when teenagers grow old enough to enter the work force they gradually use more stand ard forms as they’re required to do so.The variety of children’s language is characterized by simplicity and lack of variation in style; and the variety used by young people is most responsible to the changing society and marked with vitality and solidarity; while in old people’s speech, one can find many old-fashioned linguistic features that are no longer used by the younger generation. 4. 2 Social dialects in relation to sex differences Many sociolinguists have observed that there is evidence of gender differences in language use.And such gender-related differences can be categorized into two kinds, one is sex-exclusive speech forms used by women or men only; the other one is sex-preferential forms which both sexes use but with one sex showing greater preference for them than the other. For the first type we can find an example in Japanese language, there are men-only pronouns: â€Å"I† and â€Å"you† for casual speech which women cannot use. For the case of second type, it seems that women’s speech style tends to be more polite, uncertain, and indirect.For example, female speakers are more likely to use some words like lovely, sweet, adorable, please, it’s very kind of you, etc. Women usually out-perform men in their choice of correct or standard speech form; while men tend to use a more non-standard vernacular style. Women used to be discriminated and regarded as inferior to men, whereas men had been more prestigious, authoritative and dominant in social affaires. However, with the increasing consciousness of the inequality imposed upon women, some feminists advocate to use neutral terms.As a result, now more and more English-speaking people insist on using words like chairperson, police officer, salesclerk and so on instead of the old and sex-based terms like chairman, policeman and saleman. 4. 3 Social dialects in relation to differences of social class membership The term social class implies different groups of people who can be differentiated in terms of social prestige, wealth, and education, and language users’ social relationship with other speakers is revealed in the ways they use the language.There are some criteria for social-class identification, like educational background, professional training, and occupation. The linguistic differences that indicate the social membership of different speakers are also manifest in vocabulary and grammar parts of the language they speak. For example, non-upper-class speakers often use multiple negations like, a young black American may say, â€Å"We ain’t had no trouble about none of us pulling out no knife†. 5. An introduction to register M. A. K.Halliday (1978:33) generalized the social context of language use in terms of three factors: the filed, this includes both professional and non-professional, or technical and non-technical social activities; the mode, which refers to the vehicle and channel of communicati on; or the way language is organized to deliver information, for example, written or oral style of speech; and tenor, which refers to the relationship between the participants and the intention of the speaker in the exchange of message and meaning with other speakers. 5. The field of discourse Language varies not only among people with different socio-economic status, but also among those with different trade and profession. A field or trade usually has its own terms of expression: a doctor learns to â€Å"talk doctor†, a lawyer learns to â€Å"talk lawyer†, and a priest learns to â€Å"talk priest†. This kind of professional or technical speech or writing is commonly referred to as jargon, it usually occurs among people sharing mutual interests or in-group knowledge which is usually inaccessible to a non-specialist.The jargon is used when the language user wants to convey the information of his special field with exactness and economy to his co-workers. Now wit h the rapid development and application of modern science and technology, some jargon vocabulary has gradually been introduced into general language and used by people in their everyday life, such as penicillin, fax, network, clone, etc. 5. 2 The mode of discourse Language is either spoken or written. With different channels of transmission, either by sound or by written symbols, the spoken and written styles of language manifest distinctive features respectively.Colloquial style, also called vernacular style, is used in the home, with close friends, between people from the same ethnic group for everyday communication. When people have a face-to-face conversation, their mutual interest or concern in certain topics, and their common background knowledge usually help reduce the load of task in their exchanging information with other participants; in addition, the participants can make use of their pronunciation, intonation, pitch, body gesture etc to convey their ideas. As a result, t he colloquial style of language can be succinct and concise without causing misunderstanding.In addition, there is a universal application of hesitation fillers such as er, mm, um, or well, you know, sort of, I mean etc. in the colloquial style of language users to help the speaker gain more time to think about what he says or to void the interruption of the flow of speech. Written style is another kind of mode of discourse. Compared with colloquial style, it is typical of formality. And written style can be further divided into styles of science, art, politics and business respectively. Each of them has developed its own features in the special register of language use.The mode of discourse, to an extent, more or less decides what kind of message, tone, and cohesive device must be chosen for the communication. It interacts with the field of discourse as well as the relationship between the speaker and the addressee to provide a background or context in which a particular style of l anguage can be most appropriately used. 5. 3 The tenor of discourse Speakers usually talk differently to people who have a different background and relationship to them, which is an important factor in determining the appropriate style of speaking in communication.For example, when you telling your friend that you like his new coat, you may say, â€Å"Hey, cool coat, I like it! † When telling the same thing to your boss, probably, you may say, â€Å"You look smart in your new coat today† Actually this is a matter of choosing your variety or code. And this choice of the right style in talking is based on the social distance between speakers. The better you know someone or the more familiar with him or her you are, the more casual and relaxed style you use; otherwise you may use a more formal utterance in conveying your ideas.Some typical examples about the tenor of discourse are motherese, teacher talk and foreign talk. Motherese refers to when a mother talks to her lit tle child, it is sensible of her not to talk in the same way as she does to an adult. Usually they will make use of some adjustments including special pitch, intonation, dictions, etc which is more acceptable for children. The use of motherese shows that the age of the addressee may affect the speaker’s style. The type of language style teachers use in language classrooms is called teacher talk.For example, teachers may use simpler utterance with low-level students; they use a more standard pronunciation and a more formal intonation. In addition, teachers usually will have a special favor in direction tutorial questions such as â€Å"Is the cup on the table? † and confirmation checks such as â€Å"Understand†? The teacher-student relationship largely determines the use of teacher-talk style to make sure the smooth process of formal proceedings in classrooms. Foreign talk is similar to teacher talk as well as motherese in that all use high frequency vocabulary, a nd all adopt shorter sentences with simple grammar.Yet the foreign talk is likely to be influenced by more variables such as the topic of conversation, the age of the participants, and the language proficiency of the learners. Hence foreign talk is comparatively more dynamic than the other two in various situations. The choice of appropriate form is influenced by the personal relationship between the participants: the higher degree of familiarity between them, the lower formality in language style they use; on the contrary, the lower degree of familiarity, the higher formality in style. . Conclusion To sum up, languages and dialects are a crucial part in the area of sociolinguistics, which is mainly concerned about the relation between linguistics and society. And the terms language and dialect are kind of ambiguous, thus it’s hard to draw a definite line between the two. Instead of making an absolute conclusion, it’s wiser and more recommendable to analyze the issues in question from a more objective point of view. And the paper adheres to this basic principle from the beginning till the end.Finally because the society is changing form time to time, so is the language, it’s better to leave space for the further discussion and exploration relating to the above topics being covered in this paper. 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