Human Resource Management in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Human Resource Management in UK - Essay Example It would appear that the dynamic business environment at that time certainly had great influence, if in fact not actually being the catalyst towards an overall full scale adoption of HRM or at least the embracing of a number of elements of the concept. HRM is a good example of how the macro environment can influence change within an organisations micro environment. Essentially it is an organisations response to macro environment factors which will determine success. In the 1980's in the UK the macro environment produced a range of political, economic, social and technological factors which favoured a movement towards a HRM approach to people management and it is also true to say that the macro environment still has a very powerful influence over the extent to which HRM is practiced and types of HRM implemented today. The term 'human resource,' first emerged in the USA in the 1950's, coined by Peter Druker in one of his seminars and traces back to organisational development and human capital theory. HRM is controversial and debatable surrounded by great academic diversity. Confusion is caused because of the 'ambiguous pedigree' of the concept (Noon, 1992). There is a lack of clarity, the term can be viewed as being broad. HRM is a concept regarded as being enigmatic / obscure due to ideological, empirical and theoretical reasons and in many cases because of micro politics (Storey, 1992). Difficulties in defining HRM and the lack of a universally accepted definition implies that HRM is an innovation that takes on the meaning of whatever the person speaking at the time wants it to be (Torrington, 1989). Questions arise over the existence of HRM (Armstrong, 2000), over its meaning and status; is HRM a 'map,' 'model' or 'theory' (Noon, 1992) and of whether it is distinct from the traditional rhetoric of personnel and industrial relations management. Or is HRM simply old wine in a new bottle, a catch all term which basically re-labels the generic activities of personnel management (Torrington, 1989; Poole, 1990; Storey, 1995). Until the emergence of HRM, debatable as it is, the traditional approach to people management was personnel management. Personnel management is based on compliance, management control over employees, it was pluralist and concerned with adverse relations and thus operating via collective relationships (Trade Unions and employee representatives) and it is characteristic of a bureaucratic style of management. Personnel management tends to be reactive, tactical and concerned with short term objectives. Personnel management tends to have more pragmatic objectives, concerned greatly with cost effectiveness. In contrast HRM is proactive and strategic, it integrates personnel /industrial relation considerations with strategic decision making. HRM is based on commitment, it is unitarist with no conflict of interests thus focusing on an individual relationship between employee and line management. HRM concentrates on people as a vital resource and focus' upon greater utilisation of this asset through its policies so as to achieve organisational

Evaluating Popular vs. Scholarly Presentations of Global Climate Change Essay Example for Free

Evaluating Popular vs. Scholarly Presentations of Global Climate Change Essay There is a very clear distinction in the presentation of material on climate change between the popular and scholarly sources. The popular source tends to present a more emotion-driven content that primarily appeals to a politically motivated side of the issue. For example, the emphasis of the article in the L.A. times emphasize â€Å"an iceless Arctic summer† and â€Å"suffering Polar bears† which gives the impression that climate change is something extremely detrimental. The popular media podcast takes this political route to a higher level, by directly linking these dangers to administrative policies done by government. What is clear about the popular article is that climate change is a very bad thing, what is clear in the subsequent podcast is that there are people responsible for it. What is not so clear though is how apparent the evidences are to these supposed grave detriments. The article attempted to substantiate this initially by citing that half of their models says so without really explaining why half of 15 models saying so is good enough. They even used this opinion from one person saying that You have to fly a lot longer to get to the ice edge than you used to, which is fairly unscientific and not reliable at all. The scholarly article and its subsequent podcast both present hard facts regarding climate change and its possible effects. There is a uniform level of clarity regarding the subtopics that they present backed up by objective data such as charts on carbon emissions vis-à  -vis global warming stats following the same time-span. This presents a clear view of the extent of damage caused by carbon emissions. What is a bit lacking is content on the social relevance of the objective findings, which I don’t think I can expect from the material in the first place since delving into such contexts would already have a subjective inkling. I think the writers/directors of the popular sources aim to make readers sympathetic to their cause and consequently, to their political agenda. On the other hand, the authors/directors of the scholarly journal and podcast aim to present unbiased information which might hopefully spur other researchers into action towards verification or further development of their current work. I think the way global climate change is presented in the popular sources makes us more afraid of the event. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing since even the scholarly sources point out that there are significant possible detriments, but being overly afraid because of sensationalized news might not evoke the best thought-of response from the reader/listener. On the other hand, the scholarly sources are not very exciting to read or listen to, which may be a barrier if you’re not really into all the science stuff but you want to learn more about helping the environment. What’s good about popular sources is that they know what people like and how people like to hear news. They can get readers and listeners to be more interested in topics. Scholarly sources although bland in style present the actual facts and objective data that people who might have been social awoken by popular sources might want to look into. In this way, I can see a synergistic aspect between the two models. One danger is causing unnecessary panic, or making people unjustifiably angry against certain entities like the government instead of realizing the problem and working on it. I think directors have to maintain a certain decency of not going overboard with the sensationalism and being as objective as they can be. Perhaps all the scientific journals need is just a bit more style in the presentation, a more layman way of talking about all the scientific details. Also, better visual representation by the use of computer animation may make objective studies a lot easier to sit through and understand. Sources: Zarembo, A. (2007).  Forecast: an iceless Arctic summer. Los Angeles Times.   Mar 16, 2007.  pg.  A.32 Phoenix, G. Lee, J. (2004) Predicting impacts of Arctic climate change: Past lessons and future challenges. Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK Scientific podcast. Retrieved April 28, 2007 from: http://www.exploratorium.edu/poles/climate.php Popular media podcast. Retrieved April 28, 2007 from: http://a.abcnews.com/podcast/050726blakemore3.mp3

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis

Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis The chapter is a theoretical examination of the discipline of contrastive analysis. Its main aim is to provide a literature review of contrastive analysis. In pursuit of this aim, the chapter first sheds the light on the history of the discipline of contrastive analysis by providing a definition and a sketch of its origin. Then, an account of the stages involved in the comparison and contrastive process is provided. After that a classification of the contrastive studies is introduced. Additionally, a brief review of the contrastive analysis hypothesis is presented as well as CAs applications and contributions to other fields like language teaching, language universals, etc. Finally, the criticism directed towards CA is identified along with the recent developments originating from the discipline itself. Definition and Origin There are three types of comparative studies. They are comparative historical linguistics, comparative typological linguistics, and contrastive linguistics. Comparative historical linguistics developed in the 19th century, it aims to find the common genetic relatedness between groups of languages. Comparative typological linguistics classify languages according to the characteristics and features they share. Note that languages which belong to a given typological group do not need to be genetically related, i.e., two languages can be closely related in their typological classification regardless their genetic distance. Contrastive linguistics/analysis is a sub discipline in linguistics which is concerned with another kind of comparison. It is concerned neither with historical development nor with the problems of describing genetic relationships. Contrastive analysis is purely synchronic in its orientation. It differs in its scope from comparative historical linguistics, since it is t ypically concerned with a comparison of corresponding subsystems in only two languages. To put it differently, Contrastive analysis studies the language items used in the same period, not those items which exist in different periods. It involves comparing and contrasting languages or subsystems of languages in order to identify their similarities and differences. Accordingly, contrastive analysis is based on theoretical linguistics as well as descriptive linguistics. It is based on the former since the success or failure of these comparisons depends on the theory applied; and it is based on the latter since no comparison is to take place without a prior description of the languages under study. Contrastive analysis had a long history. As early as 1000 A.D, the English abbot Aelfric of Eynsham (c. 955 c. 1010) wrote his Grammatica: a grammar of Latin and English, based on the assumption that the knowledge of grammar of one language facilitates the learning of the other. Additionally, in the 17th century, the grammarian John Hewes expresses the view that the knowledge of the native grammar cannot only facilitate learning a foreign language but also interface (the idea of interference) with it. Hewes in his (1624) A Perfect Survey of the English Tongue taken according to the USA and analogie of the Latine, presented the fundamentals of English in order to provide the learner with a Right knowledge censure of their owne mother tongue, in regard it holden a great difference in it selfe from the dialect of the Latine (as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 02). Other grammarians like Howel (1662), Coles (1675), and Lewis (1670?) applied the idea of facilitation (positive transfer) through adapting the grammars of English or of Latin to the needs of speakers of various native languages. Note that those early contrastive studies were motivated in almost the same way as modern contraceptive studies in the USA. As early as 1670, Mark Lewis stated the following: The most facil (sic!) way of introducing any in a Tongue unknown is to show what Grammar it hath beyond, or short of his Mother tongue; following that Maxime, to proceed a noto ad ignotum, making what we know, a step to what we are to lean (sic!) (as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 02). Nearly three centuries later, Charles Fries wrote the following: The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the languages to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner (Fries, 1945, p. 9) Although the word contrast did not appear until the end of the 18th century, the idea of comparing languages for pedagogical reasons is not a new one, as it goes back to the beginning of the foreign language teaching tradition. Nevertheless, written records of such kind of procedures went back to the 15th century. It should be mentioned that earlier contrastivists were not concerned with methodological problems, though they did develop a method of comparison know as The Sign Theory, the first method in contrastive studies. The sign theory is an approach introduced by Krzeszowski (1985) and was designed for teaching Latin in England; it involved adjusting the grammatical descriptions of both English and Latin. For many years, contrastive studies were practiced in the classroom intuitively. However, modern linguistic theories which flourished in the 20th century did affect the state of contrastive studies and hence, interests in methodology and theory of contrastive analysis began to grow. Contrastive analysis usually involves two languages and it is based on the assumption that languages have enough in common to be compared, as stated by James (1980, p. 3): CA is a linguistic enterprise aimed at producing inverted (i.e. contrastive, not comparative) two-valued typologies (a CA is always concerned with a pair of languages), and founded on the assumption that languages can be compared. Among the prominent objectives of contrastive analysis are: supplying insights into the convergences and divergences existing among languages, predicting problematic areas in L2 learning and contributing to the development of language teaching materials. A quick glance at the history of the discipline of CA will manifest that it has been assigned different labels by different European and American scholars. It was referred to as parallel description (Fries 1945), analytical comparison (Mathesius, 1964), comparative descriptive linguistics (Halliday-McIntosh-Stevens 1964), differential description (Mackey 1965), descriptive comparison (Catford 1968), dialinguistic analysis (Nemser 1971), analytical description (Ibid), differential studies (Lee 1974), interlingual comparison (Fillipovic 1975c). However, the widely used term contrastive linguistics has been coined by the American linguist and anthropologist Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) in his 1941 article Languages and logic. In the aforementioned article, Whorf distinguished between comparative and contrastive linguistics. He claimed that contrastive linguistics is of even greater importance for the future technology of thought (1967, p. 240); and he defines it as a discipline which plots the outstanding differences among tongues in grammar, logic, and general analysis of experience. Contrastive analysis first appeared in Central Europe before the Second World War and spread afterwards in North America. It was Lados Linguistics Across Cultures (1957) which sets the corner stone of contrastive analysis, specifically the idea that the degree of differences between the two languages correlates with that of difficulty. In its early days in the forties (1940s) and fifties (1950s), CA was seen as a pedagogical tool, through which problematic areas in language teaching and learning can be predicted. Accordingly, CA relies very much on psychology as it is concerned with the prediction of learning difficulties which crop up from learners NL and TL; hence it needs a psychological component. It should be mentioned that CA is more powerful in the prediction of pronunciation difficulties, however, when it comes to grammar, it is not so powerful since most of grammatical errors in second language learning occur in areas where CA cannot predict. It is important to realize that there are three phases of Contrastive Analysis; each having its own characteristics: the (1) traditional, (2) classical and (3) modern phase. Traditional contrastive studies which marked the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were horizontal in dimension in the sense that an element(s) in language A is compared with an equivalent element(s) in language B. They proceed from the description of the same features in the two languages to their juxtaposition on the basis of translation equivalence as assessed by a bilingual informant. Normally, a point of reference, often called tertium comparationis, is required outside the languages to be contrasted. The period between the end of the Second World War and 1965 was recognized as the classical period of contrastive studies. In this period, CA has been credited its status as a scientific, pragmatic as well as academic discipline. The most prominent figures of that period are Charles Fries, Robert Lado, Kenneth Pike, Ureil Weinreich among many others. The modern period of contrastive studies has been marked by the numerous contrastive projects carried out all over the world. However, it should be emphasized that theoretical issues of previous periods came under severe criticism. We will return to this presently, for the time being, it is sufficient to see that a problem exists. Despite the criticism of the previous periods, this phase marked the establishment of CA as an academic discipline throughout the world. It should be emphasized that modern linguistic approaches and technology have opened new horizons for CA. Notably, cognitive linguistics, pragmatics and corpus linguistics have all offered new theoretical frameworks and methodology. Stages of Contrastive Analysis Contrastive Analysis involves three stages, description, juxtaposition, and comparison. Lets consider each stage separately. The descriptive stage In this stage, the contrastive analyst provides an exhaustive description of the languages under study. Note that each language should be described individually apart from the other. Furthermore, the two languages should be described using the same model or framework, because if it happens that the two languages were described using different models, certain features may be described successfully than others. The juxtaposition stage In this stage, the contrastive analyst should respond to the following question: what is to be compared with what? In classical contrastive studies, the decision was based on intuitive judgments of competent bilingual informants. It was thought that competent bilinguals are able to decide about whether an element X in language A is equivalent to element Y in language B or is not. However, these intuitive judgments proved to be very weak as there are no clear principles underlying these decisions and as they were based on formal resemblances only which are not enough. As a consequence, the contrastive analyst faced the problem of establishing the criteria of comparison, also referred to as the tertium comparationis. It should be mentioned that the tertium comparationis is a kind of constant against which differences are measured, as stated by James (1980): The first thing we do is make sure that we are comparing like with like: this means that the two (or more) entities to be compared, while differing in some respect, must share certain attributes. This requirement is especially strong when we are contrasting, i.e., looking for differences-since it is only against a background of sameness that differences are significant. We shall call this sameness the constant and the differences variables. (p. 169) The notions of the equivalence and the tertium comparationis were presented graphically in Djordjevi (1987). In traditional contrastive studies, the TC was defined as the common platform of reference (Krzeszowski, 1990, p. 15). During the classical period, however, the TC was either formally or semantically based (James, 1980). Note that in phonological CA, the tertium comparationis is the IPA chart and the vowel diagram; in Lexis, it is the set of semantic components. However, contrastivists failed to establish a clear TC for grammatical CA. Because of this failure, three candidates have been proposed: surface structure TC, deep structure TC, and translation equivalence TC. The comparative stage In this stage, the contrastive analyst identifies the similarities and differences existing among the two languages. Note that the comparison involves types and not tokens (i.e. the contrastive analyst compares structures rather than strings of sound or graphic substance). Another issue related to the comparison stage is the fact that one does not compare languages in toto, instead a specifying process is usually under way, like for example the area of grammar, phonology or lexicology; which result in a variety of contrastive studies such as grammatical CA, phonological CA, and lexical CA. According to Krzeszowski (1990), there are three distinguished areas in this stage: Comparisons of various equivalent systems across languages, such as pronouns, articles, verbs, and in phonology consonants, vowels, as well as sub-systems, such as nasals, laterals, etc., depending on the degree of delicacy of the grammar. Comparisons of equivalent constructions, for example, interrogative, relative, negative, nominal phrase, etc., And in phonology clusters, syllables, diphthongs, and various distributions of sounds. Comparisons of equivalent rules (in those models where the concept of the rule appears), for example, subject raising from the embedded sentence, adjective placement, interrogative inversion, passivization, etc., and in phonology assimilation, dissimilation, metathesis, etc. In each area of comparison, one of three possible situations may arise: XLi = XLj When item X in Li may be identical in some respects with an equivalent item in Lj. XLi à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   XLj When item X in Li may be different in some respects from an equivalent item in Lj. XLi = ØLj When item X in Li has no equivalent in Lj. (Krzeszowski, 1976, p. 90) (as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 39). Levels of Analysis Contrastive analysis can be conducted at different levels of language, for example it can be carried out at the phonological level, grammatical level, as well as the lexical level. Phonological CA When comparing the sound system of two languages, the contrastive analyst has to go through four basic steps. Firstly, he should draw up the phonemic inventory (describe and compare vowels and consonants) of the two languages under study. Secondly, the contrastive analyst should compare the phonemes in the two languages interlingually. At this stage, the contrastive analyst should apply the minimal pair test. Here is an example of the minimal pair test between the phonemes /k/ and /g/ in English and Arabic: English: came /Keim/ vs. game /geim/ Arabic: /kelb/ dog vs. /gelb/ heart In Algerian Arabic /q/ and /g/ are phonemes and allophones: /gern/ horn vs. /qern/ century à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ phonemes /gma::r/ moon vs. /qma:r/ moon à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ allophones Thirdly, the contrastive analyst should state the allophones of each phoneme of the two languages being compared. And fourthly, he should state the distribution restrictions of the phonemes and allophones of both languages. Grammatical CA In a grammatical contrastive analysis, the contrastive analyst compares and contrasts between the grammatical systems of two languages. The comparison may take different forms, for example, in English; word order is used to differentiate between an affirmative sentence and an interrogative one: you are a teacher/are you a teacher? In Spanish, however, the same distinction is indicated via the use of intonation; while in Arabic, the same distinction is expressed through the addition of functional words like Ù†¡Ãƒâ„¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ at the beginning of sentences. Another kind of grammatical contrastive analysis may investigate how a given linguistic category functions in two different languages, such as the case of adjectives in English and French. In English, adjectives tend to be pronominal, however, in French; they tend to be post nominal, for example: The narrow door La porte etroite. Lexical CA Contrastive lexicology is carried out between the vocabulary system(s) of two languages. It is concerned with the way lexical items in one language are expressed in another language. This can be done through identifying both the semantic fields and the semantic properties in order to specify the divisions and sub-divisions of the lexicon. Lexical CA may result in complete, partial, or nil equivalence between languages. Towards the Classification of Contrastive Studies Contrastive studies can be divided into various subdivisions according to many criteria. Jacek Fisiak distinguished between theoretical contrastive studies and applied contrastive studies as stated in the following quote: Theoretical CS give an exhaustive account of the differences and similarities between two or more languages provide an adequate model for their comparison, determine how and which elements are comparable, thus defining such notions as congruence, equivalence, correspondence, etc. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Applied CS is part of applied linguistics. Drawing on the findings of theoretical contrastive studies they provide a framework for the comparison of languages, selecting whatever information is necessary for a specific purpose, e.g. teaching, bilingual analysis, translating, etc. (Fisiak, 1981, p. 9) He claims that theoretical contrastive studies do not investigate how a given category present in language A is represented in language B. Instead they look for the realization of a universal category X in both A and B (Fisiak et al. 1978: 10). Whereas, applied contrastive studies are preoccupied with the problem of how a universal category X, realized in language A as y, is rendered in language B. (Fisiak et al., 1978, p. 10), as illustrated below: X X A B A(y) B(?) Figure 2. a) Theoretical CAs b) Applied CAs Hence, a theoretical contrastive study provides us with exhaustive descriptions of the languages being compared and contrasted. Also, it highlights the main points of convergences and divergences between the languages in question. A worth emphasizing point is that there are no claims to be made as to whether the results are applicable for other purposes or not. An advantage of theoretical contrastive analyses is that they make reference to the universal tertium comparationis X; whereas applied contrastive analyses do not make such a reference. Additionally, theoretical contrastive studies contribute to the establishment of language universals. Also, they are language independent and non-directional. It should be mentioned that theoretical contrastive studies insist on the descriptive neutrality between the two languages under study, which is why attention should be drawn to some problems of terminology. In contrastive studies, terms like SL vs. TL, L1 vs. L2, and NL vs. FL occur and re-occur. However, the avoidance of these terms is highly required in theoretical contrastive studies, simply because the languages under study have an equal status. Applied contrastive studies draw on the findings of theoretical contrastive studies. Their aim is not merely linguistic but also applicable to other domains like: language teaching, translation, bilingual education, etc. Traditionally speaking, applied contrastive studies have been concerned with setting out the possible problematic areas in the learners target language, i.e., providing reliable prediction of the learners difficulties (James, 1980, p. 181-7). It should be mentioned that Applied contrastive studies devote more attention to surface representations since these are what the learners/translators have a more immediate access to and what language teaching has always been concerned with. Despite the fact that applied contrastive studies draw on the findings of theoretical contrastive studies, still they do not deal only with differences but also they give importance to the similarities. Hence, the teacher should point out the similar forms, so that learners will not guess them, because very often, an element of a foreign language is similar to what one has in his own language. Notice that the first contrastive studies were predominantly theoretical (Grandgent, 1982; Vietor, 1894; Passy, 1912; J Baudouin de Courtenay, 1912; Bogorodickij, 1915). Still, the applied part of CA was not completely neglected (e.g. Vietor, 1903), but it was of little importance. Also, the aim of developing pedagogical materials was more visible in the US, while Europe was more interested in the theoretical dimension. The other classification of contrastive studies is based on the linguistic model applied when describing the languages involved. Since contrastive analysis can be carried out in different linguistic frameworks, there are the structural, transformational, stratificational, or systemic contrastive studies. A third taxonomy is the one provided by Di Pietro (1971). He divided contrastive studies into Autonomous vs. Generalized and into Taxonomic vs. Operational. In autonomous contrastive studies, no reference is made to any universal which may be shared between the languages compared. Each language is described independently from the other. However, in generalized contrastive studies, reference is made to the shared features/structures which exist between the compared languages, not only because of their typological or genetic similarities but because of the universal grammar which underlie all human languages. Concerning the Taxonomic vs. Operational contrastive studies, the former states the similarities and differences across languages, the latter seeks to formulate a series of conversions performed on the source language in order to produce the forms of the goal language (Di Pietro 1971, as cited in Krzeszowski, Tomasz, 1990, p. 24). Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis (CAH) Definition and origin Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis states that the structure of the learners L1 affects the acquisition (the two terms acquisition/learning interchangeably) of their L2, in the sense that whenever there are similarities the L2 learning is facilitated, and whenever there are differences the learning process is difficult. The term Contrastive Hypothesis implies the theory itself, while the term Contrastive Analysis implies the methodology. Hence, the term Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis implies both theory and methodology. CAH came into existence in the 1960s. It originated from Lados Linguistics across Cultures: The plan of the book rests on the assumption that we can predict and describe the patterns that will cause difficulty in learning, and those that will not cause difficulty, by comparing systematically the language and the culture to be learned with the native language and culture of the student (1957, p. VII). CAH is based on the assumption that second language learners tend to transfer L1 features to L2 utterances as stated by Lado (1957): Individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings, and the distribution of forms and meanings of their native language and culture to the foreign language and culture (p. 2). Accordingly, Ellis (1965) suggested that the psychological foundation of CAH is transfer theory. In fact, CAs assumption that L1 interferes with the learners L2 acquisition/Learning leads us to the notion of transfer; be it positive or negative. Transfer refers to the application of native language knowledge when trying to speak the target language. Positive Transfer (facilitation) occurs when the structure of the two languages is the same; hence no errors will crop up. However, negative transfer (interference) occurs when the structure of the languages is different, and here errors will crop up and so the difficulties in tackling the target language. All in all, the more the similarities the more the learning process is facilitated, and the more the differences the more the learning process will be difficult. The aforementioned statement reflects linguists belief that a comparison of learners L1 and L2 will reveal problematic areas for L2 students, as stated by Lado (1957): In the comparison between native and foreign language lies the key to ease or difficulty in foreing language learningà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Those elements that are similar to (the learners) native language will be simple for him, and those elements that are different will be difficult. (p. 1-2) The linguistic framework of the CAH is structuralism which assumes that language is a finite structure which can be compared with structures of other languages. Additionally, Skinners behavioural psychology is the basis of the CAH, specifically, the idea that learning is a habit formation process that takes place by reinforcement. Language acquisition consists of the acquisition of a set of habits; errors in second language were seen as the result of the first language habits interfering with the acquisition of the habits of the second. Procedures of the contrastive analysis hypothesis CAH applies the following procedure when attempting to predict areas of difficulty, as illustrated or stated by Whitman (1970): A contrastive analysis must proceed through four steps; description, selection, contrast, and prediction. Unfortunately, most analyses are weakened by insufficient care or attention at one or more of these steps, each of which is beset with a host of problems. (p. 191) In the Description stage, the contrastive analyst provides a formal description of the learners L1 and L2. In the selection stage, he selects specific forms (linguistic items, or rules, or structures, etc.) for contrast, as it is impossible to contrast every single facet of two languages. In the contrast stage, he carries out the contrastive process which will result in highlighting the similarities and differences existing among the two languages. Finally, come the stage of prediction in which the contrastive analyst predicts the problematic issues and difficulties, which the learner may or may not face while learning the target language. In order to describe the stage of prediction, Stockwell et al. (1965) proposed a hierarchy of difficulty based on the notion of transfer, be it positive transfer, negative transfer or zero transfer. When the forms of the two languages are similar, positive transfer will occur and hence the facilitation of the learning process; however, when the forms of the two languages are different, negative transfer will occur and hence difficulty in learning; when there is no relation at all between the forms of the two languages, here no transfer is to take place, i.e., zero transfer. Versions of the CAH It is important to realize that there are different versions of the CAH. These are the strong and weak versions of Wardhaugh (1970) and the moderate version of Oller and Ziahosseiny (1970). Wardhaugh (1970) suggested that the strong version predicts areas of difficulty via providing a systematic and scientific analysis of the learners L1 and L2. However, the weak version requires of the linguist only that he uses the best linguistic knowledge available to account for observed difficulties in second language learning. (Wardhaugh, 1970, p. 129) So, there is a shift in focus from the predictive power of areas of difficulty to the explanatory power of observable errors. In addition, Oller and Ziahosseiny (1970) find the strong version too strong and the weak version too weak, and so they proposed a moderate version of the hypothesis which they summarized as follows: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the categorization of abstract and concrete patterns according to their perceived similarities and differences is the basis for learning; therefore, wherever patterns are minimally distinct in form or meaning in one or more systems, confusion may result (p. 186). To explain their view, they conducted a study based on English spelling errors on the UCLA placement test. In this test, they compared the spelling errors of foreign students whose native language employed/uses a Roman alphabet with foreign students spelling errors whose native language has little or no relation to the Roman alphabet. They arrive to the conclusion that knowledge of one Roman writing system makes it more difficult to learn/acquire another Roman spelling system. Implementations of Contrastive Analysis Be it a very useful tool, CA is applied in many fields of inquiry. It contributes to different areas of study as stated in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Applied Linguistics: CA has been used as a tool in historical linguistics to establish language genealogies, in comparative linguistics to create language taxonomies and in translation theory to investigate problems of equivalence. In language teaching it has been influential through the contrastive analysis hypothesis CAHà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Johnson Johnson, 1998, p. 85) Contrastive analysis and language teaching In the field of language teaching, CA has been influential through the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, as Fries point out: The most efficient materials are those that are based upon a scientific description of the languages to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel description of the native language of the learner (1945, p. 9) As a matter of fact, the contributions of contrastive analysis to the field of language teaching are numerous and remarkable. First, a contrastive analysis of the learners L1 and L2 helps syllabus designers to prepare effective teaching materials taking into consideration students difficulties. As stated by Lado in his (1957) Linguistics across Cultures: The results of such comparisons have proven of fundamental value for the preparation of teaching materials, test and language teaching experiments. Foreign language teachers who understand this field will acquire insights and tools for evaluating the language and culture content of the textbooks and tests, supplementing the materials in use, preparing new materials and tests, and diagnosing students difficulties accurately. ( p. I) Secondly, contrastive analysis provides useful insights to the teacher who has performed a contrastive analysis between the students L1 and L2, and makes him/her aware of the real learning problems and the best way(s) to teach them, as stated by Lado (1957): The teacher who has made a comparison of a foreign language with the native language of the student will know better what the real learning problems are and can better provide for teaching them. (p. 2) In addition to Lado, Mackey (1965) illustrates the significance of CA to language teaching in the following quotation: CA is of particular interest to language teaching because many of the difficulties in learning a second language are due to the fact that it differs from the first. So that if we subtract the characteristics of the first language from those of the second; what presumably remains is a list of the learners difficulties. I DID NOT FIND THE PAGE It seems likely then, that the most useful contribution that Contrastive Analysis can make to language teaching lies in predicting learning difficulties and helping syllabus designers to produce the most effective materials. Contrastive analysis and language typology

The Role of Women in Screwball Comedy Films :: Movies

The Role of Women in Screwball Comedy Films Joan Wilder: You're leaving? You're leaving me?! Jack Colton: You're gonna be all right, Joan Wilder. Yea. You always were. Like a contemporary Dorothy, Romancing the Stone's Joan Wilder must travel to Columbia and survive incredible adventures to learn that she had always been a capable and valuable person. Romancing the Stone (Robert Zemeckis, 1984) is part of a series of 1980s action comedies that disrupted previous expectations for female heroines. These female protagonists manage to subvert the standard action narrative and filmic gaze, learning to rescue themselves and to resist others' limited vision of them. Not only did these action comedies present strong female characters, they also offered a new filmic experience for female audiences. The commercial success of comic action heroines paved the way for women to appear in serious action roles--without the personal sacrifices required of Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley. Figures like Joan Wilder serve as an important link between previous strong yet feminine screen personas and current female stars. Led by Laura Mulvey, feminist film critics have discussed the difficulty presented to female spectators by the controlling male gaze and narrative generally found in mainstream film, creating for female spectators a position that forces them into limited choices: "bisexual" identification with active male characters; identification with the passive, often victimized, female characters; or on occasion, identification with a "masculinized" active female character, who is generally punished for her unhealthy behavior. Before discussing recent improvements, it is important to note that a group of Classic Hollywood films regularly offered female spectators positive, female characters who were active in controlling narrative, gazing and desiring: the screwball comedy. Comedy often allows for a subversion of the status quo that is not tolerated in more serious genres. Beginning in the 1930s, the subgenre of screwball comedy presented female characters who were active and desiring, without evoking negative characterizations as "unfeminine" or "trampish." Screwball comedies represent a specific form of romantic comedy that features a complicated situation--or more often a series of complications--centered around a strong-willed, unpredictable female. The comedy is generally physical as well as verbal. Screwball and other forms of romantic comedy do not just reverse the masculine/active, feminine/passive paradigm--which as E. Ann Kaplan notes accomplishes little in terms of change--but instead strengthens the female and weakens the male just enough to put them on more equal footing.

Education For Life Essay

Education For LifeThe basic purpose of a liberal arts education is to liberate the human being to exercise his or her potential to the fullest. Liberal arts plays an important role in developing individuals and the world. When students attend liberal art colleges, they will understand the essence of humanity and will learn to shape and develop personal values. For a person to develop, he needs to understand the essence of humanity. When you attend college, your view on the meaning of life changes. You live for your minds and spirits and not just for the security of material wealth (Urbanek). You start to do things related to your work as this is your interest. This will make you care less about material wealth and you will focus more on the benefit of the world than the benefit of yourself. Liberal arts means arts of freedom. People learn about things that interest them. This makes the experience of learning better. Students will recognize the value of material things for what they are (Urbanek). They will start challenging tasks of design where they would learn how to translate ideas into actions. They will get to know the depth, flexibility and openness of their thinking and will also be able to recognize the importance of their thinking. Taking these ideas into consideration, I can say that liberal arts teaches people global responsibility, social awareness and self development, which is the essence of humanity. Thus, when the essence of humanity is known, then only a person will be able to acquire personal values. The value of liberal arts was appreciated by the students in older times but contemporary students do not share the same sentiment. In 1900, 70 percent of college students in US attended liberal arts colleges but today fewer that 5 percent do. The idea has taken hold by educators that todays youth are more materialistic, less idealistic and more self interested than their predecessors (Richard). In 1997, Yankelovitch survey focused on high school students and their parents, found that 85 percent of the high school students and 74 percent of their parents stated that the goal of college is to get a practical education and to secure a job. Furthermore, only 14 percent of the students and 27percent of their parents were even familiar with what a liberal art education is. Todays students tend to be career oriented, impatient and focused in material rewards (Kahn). People do not know that liberal arts can offer a clearer understanding that work embodies the values of courage, honour and responsibility. Liberal art colleges expose you to a variety of academic disciplines and an excellent background for future work. The education gives you the ability to adapt to a changing environment, communicate effectively, think critically and solve complex problems, which can prove very useful in everyday lives. As you acquire personal values throughout your college years, it is important to learn how to shape these values. I believe that the central purpose of liberal arts education is to shape the values of people. The impact of liberal arts education on student value change is conclusive in determining whether higher education is effective in achieving this central purpose. According to a survey conducted at the University of California at Los Angeles, 8 out of 10 academics said they were spiritual, and 64 percent called themselves religious. More than half of the faculty members said that it was important to enhance undergraduates’ self-understanding and to develop their moral character and values. I think liberal arts is a great way to teach people their spiritual and moral responsibilities towards the community and world itself. Humanitarian values are defined by acceptance of value equivalency between ones own loyalties and those of all other individuals and groups, as well as respecting the rights of others to freely express similar claims and loyalties without infringement (Hollway). Values serve as guiding principles in the life of a person or other social entity and thus, it is important for people to learn how to shape these values. Values are described as serving the interests of some social entity, motivating action, giving direction, and having emotional intensity (Hollway). Therefore, these values are needed for the development of individuals. When individuals possess these values, they will be able to use them in their society. Employers around the world are looking for people who possess these values and have the ability to use them. Hence, liberal arts students will satisfy these employers. These students will also find opportunities to learn more as their primary goal is not material wealth. This will help countries to better their economy. These values will benefit the students themselves as well as the world. Once a person understands the essence of humanity and learns to shape and develop values, he will be able to make changes to the world. Liberal arts students have the skills to become valuable community members. They make decisions, solve problems and communicate the solutions to others. Liberal arts prepares these students to be successful throughout their life. WORKS CITEDUrbanek, Jennifer. The EBSCOhost. 28 Oct. 2007 Kahn, Beverly. Co-opting The Market Place. Journal of Higher Education: p. 19. EBSCOhost. 28 Oct. 2007 Richard, M. The Practical Path, Too, Can Be High-Minded. Chronicle of Higher Education: p. 11. EBSCOhost. 28 Oct. 2007 Hollway, Michael. A Comparison of the Impact of 2 Liberal Arts. Journal of General Education: p. 237. EBSCOhost. 28 Oct. 2007.

Association Football and Davies Middle School Essay

For me to be a member of the National Juniors Honors Society would be an amazing privilege. I believe I should be accepted because I am dedicated and passionate about my activities inside and outside of school. Also I will bring strong leadership as well as teamwork skills to NJHS. I am always looking for new ways to help people even in the smallest of things. Lastly, I have received many recognition awards and commendations. I think these qualities will make me an excellent member of the National Junior Honor Society here at William Davies Middle School. One of my biggest passions is my soccer team, the Hamilton Shock. I have been playing soccer for a little over a year and a half and I love it. We work together not only as a team but like a family through our losses and wins. All we have done is improve. They have helped me become a better soccer player and we have become an excellent team with my optimism and teamwork. Another activity that I am involved with in school is S. W. A. T or Students Working to Advance Technology. We work together to come up with new ways to inform our student body about the events going on at Davies. We are always helping each other with new ideas like our Davies â€Å"App† that we are currently working on. In the end our projects always come together. My biggest community activity is for Special Olympics of New Jersey. My family and I attend many of the events for SONJ including the Summer Games. I started volunteering by working and playing with the athletes. The area we staffed was where the athletes came to take a break and play with carnival-like games. The ages ranged from little kids to adults. It was fun putting smiles on their faces when you told them they won! It showed me we aren’t any different than them. They still like to do sports and have fun. They love to win prizes as do we. They just have disabilities that make them special. Over all volunteering for SONJ is a fantastic experience and in my opinion every boy and girl should do it one day. I am always looking for ways to help out around school. My interest started in 4th grade with my teacher Mrs. Giordano. I would stay inside for recess and help prepare the classroom for the next lesson. Then in 5th grade I would skip recess some days and go to the library to help. As a Library Helper, I would check books in and out and restock the shelves. Most recently this year, I sold bracelets for the Hurricane Sandy Relief during my lunch period. Some of these examples show I am willing to give up my time to help others. Although I am young I have already been recognized for my outstanding performance in school. For instance, in 5th grade, I was chosen by my principal, Mrs. Jennifer Baldwin, as the most outstanding student in the George L. Hess Elementary School for that year. I was awarded The Bassetti Award and received Phillies tickets for my outstanding grades and overall performance in school. I have continued this effort here at Davies. With my good grades I have been on the Superintendent’s list for five quarters. Lastly, I have also acquired several Praise Referrals. Although I am most proud of two that I got last year. These referrals were for helping one of the students in my language arts class that needed a little extra guidance sometimes. I could tell she got frustrated and confused easily. I would try my best every time to help her. Some of the other kids thought she was weird or strange. I didn’t mind her behaviors because she was one of my friends. When I was given these awards I didn’t understand what I was being rewarded for because I wasn’t doing anything extra. I was just doing what I normally would do, try to do my best and help those around me. In final consideration, this shows that I have been successful so far but I believe I will go on to do even bigger and better things and I hope NJHS can help me do that. I have ideas of improving our school and town such as a Special Olympics volunteering program. I would also like to show other students how they can help and improve our school. I think my best years at Davies are ahead and they can only be better with my involvement in the National Junior Honors Society.